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356 ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY

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Priming and Foaming
During rapid steam production, some liquid water drops are also carried along with the

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steam. This wet-steam formation is called priming.
Priming occurs due to (i) presence of large amount of dissolved solids, (ii) high steam

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velocities, (iii) sudden boiling and (iv) sudden increase in steam production. Priming can be
controlled by (i) maintaining low water level in boiler, (ii) avoiding rapid change in steam rate,

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(iii) softening of boiler water and (iv) using mechanical device for steam purification.
Foaming is the production of bubbles and foams which do not break easily. Foaming

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occurs due to the presence of oil in the water.
Foaming can be reduced by (i) removing oil from boiler-feed water and (ii) adding anti-

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foaming agents.
Priming and foaming occur together and they are undesirable since they wet other

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mechanical parts of the boiler and reduce their efficiency. Actual height of the water column
cannot be judged due to foaming hence creating difficulty in the maintenance.

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Highlights:
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• Chief sources of water: Sea water, rainwater, ground water and surface water.
• Impurities present in water:
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(i) Suspended, (ii) Colloidal, (iii) Dissolved impurities

• Temporary hardness is due to Ca(HCO3)2 and Mg(HCO3)2 and can be removed by
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boiling.
• Permanent hardness is due to chlorides and sulfates of Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+ and other
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heavy metals.
• Hardness expressed in equivalent amount of CaCO3
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Mass of hardness producing substances × 50

=
Chemical equivalent of hardness producing substances
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• 1 ppm hardness ≡ 1 part of CaCO3 equivalent hardness in 106 parts of water.

• Hard water cannot be used for steam generation in boilers due to the problems
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like scale and sludge formation, priming and foaming, boiler corrosion and failure.
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Softening of Water
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Softening of water means the removal of calcium, magnesium, iron salts and similar
other metallic ions, which would form insoluble metallic soaps. The three important industrial
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methods employed for softening of water are:

1. Cold and hot lime-soda process.
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2. Permutit or zeolite process.

3. Ion-exchange or demineralization process.
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1. Lime-soda process. By this process, soluble calcium and magnesium salts are rendered
insoluble by adding calculated amount of lime [(CaOH)2] and soda [Na2CO3]. The insoluble
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precipitates of CaCO3 and Mg(OH)2 are removed by filtration. By this method, both temporary
and permanent hardness are removed.
For the removal of temporary hardness the reactions are:
Ca(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 → 2CaCO3 ↓ + 2H2O
Mg(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 → 2CaCO3 ↓ + MgCO3 + 2H2O
MgCO3 + Ca(OH)2 → Mg(OH)2 ↓ + CaCO3 ↓
Hence, to remove equivalent quantities of Ca and Mg hardnesses the amount of lime
necessary is in the ratio of 1:2.

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WATER TREATMENT 357

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Again for the removal of permanent hardness. The reactions are:
CaSO4 + Na2CO3 → CaCO3 ↓ + Na2SO4

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MgSO4 + Na2CO3 → MgCO3 + Na2SO4
MgCO3 + Ca(OH)2 → Mg(OH)2 ↓ + CaCO3 ↓

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Hence, for the removal of permanent hardness due to Ca-salts, lime is not necessary,

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but it is necessary for Mg salts. Extra addition of Ca(OH)2 causes hardness. So calculated
quantities of lime and soda are to be added after the determination of actual hardness.

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In the actual process the water is thoroughly mixed with the chemicals and allowed to
react for sufficient time. Activated charcoal is added as activator, alum etc. are added as

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coagulants. To avoid after-precipitation of CaCO3, sludge of the previous operation is added,
which supplies the nuclei for the precipitation.

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Cold Lime-Soda Process
In this method, calculated quantity of chemicals and water, along with accelerators and

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coagulators are added to a tank fitted with a stirrer (Fig. 17.1). On vigorous stirring, thorough
mixing takes place. After softening the soft water rises upwards and the heavy sludges settle
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down. The softened water passes through a filtering media ensuring complete removal of the
sludge and finally the filtered water flows out through the top. Cold lime soda process is used
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for partial softening of municipal water, for softening of cooling water etc. In actual purpose,
magnesium hardness is brought down to almost zero but calcium hardness remains about
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40 ppm.
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Motor Driving belt

Chemicals
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(soda + lime Raw water

+ coagulant) feed inlet
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feed inlet
Filtered softened
water outlet
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Wood-fibre
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filter
Outer chamber
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Stirrer
paddles
Inner chamber
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Stirrer
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Sedimented
sludge
[CaCO3, Mg(OH)2]

Sludge outlet

Fig. 17.1 Continuous cold lime-soda softener.

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358 ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY

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Hot Lime-Soda Process
This process is similar to the cold lime-soda process. Here the chemicals alongwith the

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water are heated near about the boiling point of water by exhaust steam. As the reaction takes
place at high temperature, there are the following advantages:

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(i)
the precipitation reaction becomes almost complete.
(ii)
the reaction takes place faster.

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(iii)the sludge settles rapidly.
(iv)no coagulant is needed.

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(v)dissolved gases (which may cause corrosion) are removed.

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(vi)viscosity of soft water is lower, hence filtered easily.
(vii)Residual hardness is low compared to the cold process.

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Hot lime-soda process consists of three parts:
(a) ‘Reaction tank’ in which complete mixing of the ingredients takes place.

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(b) ‘Ionical sedimentation vessel’ where the sludge settles down and
(c) ‘Sand filter’ where sludge is completely removed.
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The soft water from this process is used for feeding the boilers (Fig. 17.2).
Advantages Include:
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(i) Lime soda process is economical.

(ii) The process improves the corrosion resistance of the water.
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(iii) Mineral content of the water is reduced.

(iv) pH of the water rises, which reduces the content of pathogenic bacteria.
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Raw water
feed inlet
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Super
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heated
steam inlet Chemicals
(lime + soda)
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feed inlet
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Reaction
tank Softened
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water
Fine
sand
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layer Coarse
Conical sand layer
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sedimentation Sand
tank filter
Gravels layer
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Precipitated
sludge Filtered
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[CaCO3, Mg(OH)2] softened

Precipitated
sludge outlet water outlet

Fig. 17.2 Continuous hot lime-soda softener.

Disadvantages Include:
(i) Huge amount of sludge is formed and disposal is difficult.
(ii) Due to residual hardness, water is not suitable for high pressure boiler.

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WATER TREATMENT 359

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Permutit or Zeolite Process
Zeolite is hydrated sodium alumino silicate capable of exchanging reversibly its sodium

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ions for Ca2+ and Mg2+, having the general formula Na2O.Al2O3.xSiO2.yH2O. Common zeolite
is Na2O Al2O3.3SiO2.2H2O and is known as natrolith. Others gluconites, green sand etc. are

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used for water softening.
Artificial zeolite used for softening purpose is permutit. These are porous and glassy

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and have greater softening capacity than green sand. They are prepared by heating together
with china clay, feldspar and soda ash.

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Method of Softening: Hardwater is passed through a bed of zeolite at a specific rate at
ordinary temperature; the hardness causing cations i.e., Ca2+ and Mg2+ are exchanged for Na

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and it is converted to CaZe and MgZe.
Reactions taking place are:

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Na2Ze + Ca(HCO3)2 = 2Na HCO3 + CaZe

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Na2Ze + Mg(HCO3)2 = 2NaHCO3 + MgZe
Na2Ze + CaSO4 = Na2SO4 + CaZe
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Na2Ze + CaCl2 = 2NaCl + CaZe
Regeneration of Zeolite: The process is also commercially successful since the Ca/Mg
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zeolites formed by passing hard water through the bed can be easily regenerated into Na2Ze by
passing brine through the bed of inactivated zeolite.
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CaZe or MgZe + 2NaCl = Na2Ze + CaCl2 (Or MgCl2)

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The washings containing CaCl2 or MgCl2 are wasted. The water softened by this process
can be used for laundry purposes.
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Hard water in
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Top distributor
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Soft water
Injector Zeolite sand out
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Gravel
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Salt storage
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Waste
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Fig. 17.3 Softening of hard water by permutit process.

Advantages. (i) Hardness of water can be removed completely upto about 10 ppm; (ii) The
equipment used is small and easy to handle; (iii) It requires less time for softening; (iv) There
is no sludge formation, hence the process is clean; (v) Easy to regenerate; (vi) Any hardness
can be removed without any adjustment of the process.
Disadvantages. (i) Coloured water or water containing suspended impurities cannot be
used before filtration; (ii) Water containing acid cannot be used for softening since acid may

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