CHF in Cation Exchange for Water Softening: Performance and Equipment Design

General Statement of the Problem: If coconut husk fiber (CHF) in ion exchange is to have its industrial applications, a thorough research should be done to improve the performance and reduce the cost of the CHF ion exchange set-up.

Plant Design Objective(s)

Experimental Objective(s)

Parametersto be Measured

Facilities Requirements Schedule

1.To determine the characteristics of the

CHF cation exchanger

I. To determine the CHF’s percent solids through the determination of the loss of mass at 104.62’C for 18 hours

Mass, g

Equipment or Apparatuses:Balance, weighing vessels, oven, dessicator, thong, asbestos mat

Materials and Supplies:Coconut husk fiber(CHF)

June 25-30, 2007

II. To determine the CHF’s adsorption isotherm by exposing CHF to increasingly higher concentrations of Ca2+ allowing contact to reach equilibrium

Mass, gConcentration,

(mg/L)

Equipment or Apparatuses:Erlenmeyer flask, balance, volumetric flasks, beaker, weighing vessel, stopper, stirring rod, buret, funnel, filter paper, dessicator

MaterialsCHF,CaCO3,Na2H2EDTA.2H2O,distilled and deioinized water,NH3,NH4Cl,Eriochrome Black T indicator triethanolamine

July 2-21, 2007

III. To determine the rate constant for the rate of CHF’s cation exchange using a constantly-stirred

Concentration, (mg/L)

Contact time, min

Equipment or Apparatuses: CSTR, buret ,pipet, beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, volumetric flasks, timer/stopwatch, dropper

July 16-August 18,2007

reactor (CSTR)

Materials: CHF,CaCO3,MgCO3,NA2H2EDTA.2H2Odistilled and deionized water, NH3, NH4Cl, Eriochrome black T indicator, triethanolamine, NaOH, hydroxylnaphthol blue indicator

2.To determine the values for the CHF cation exchanger’s design parameters

I. To determine the service time and minimum bed depth of the CHF cation exchanger systems through the breakthrough experiment

Concentration (mg/L)

Contact time, (min)

Column area,m2

Height, mFlow rate, (m3/min)

Equipment or Apparatuses:Glass column(or 1L/500-mL buret),50-mL burets, pipet, beakers, volumetric flasks, timer/stopwatch, flowmeter

Materials:CHF, CaCO3 ,Na2H2EDTA.2H2O, distilled and deionized water, NH3, NH4Cl, Eriochrome black T indicator, triethanolamine, hose, ruler and gravel

August 20-September 8,2007

3.To describe the comparability of the CHF cation exchanger with the commercial ion exchanger

I. To compare the performance of CHF and commercial ion exchanger in terms of effluent pH, turbidity, color and amount of hardness removed

pHconcentration,

(mg/L)color

Turbidity

Equipment or Apparatuses: pH meter, buret, beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, volumetric flasks, pipet, timer/stopwatch, flow meter

Materials:CHF, CaCO3, Na2H2EDTA.2H2O, distilled and deionized water, NH3, NH4Cl, Eriochrome black T indicator, triethanolamine

November 26-December 13, 2007