If you own a DI bottle exchange business and regeneration plant, you should be testing your ion exchange resin float at least one or two times per year. Standard resin tests include the following information:
Strong Acid Cation (SAC)
- Water Retention Capacity
- Total Exchange Capacity
- Microscopic Bead Examination
Strong Base Anion (SBA)
- Water Retention Capacity
- Total Exchange Capacity
- Weak Base Capacity
- Salt Splitting Capacity
- Microscopic Bead Examination
Mixed Bed Resin (MB)
- Same as Cation/Anion
- Cation/Anion Resin Ratio
This is good information but is it enough?
Percent Regeneration Efficiency
Do you run your regenerated resin through a test tank to determine its capacity? Most small DI businesses don’t have the time to run this test. In its place the resin manufacturer can run a test which measures how well the resin is regenerated. In most cases at least 90% of cation resin will be in regenerated form (H+). Anion resin is trickier and typically we find regeneration efficiency of 80%.
Heavy Metals
Ion Exchange Resin is capable of removing contaminants not allowed by your municipal waste authority. During regeneration many of these contaminants can be exchanged and end up in your waste stream. Periodic testing of your exhausted resin for heavy metals assures you are staying below your permitted levels.