Factors That Reduce DI Resin Lifespan

Deionization resin generally has a lifespan of five to 10 years, assuming there are no mitigating circumstances that reduce its usefulness. Learning how to care for a deionization tank in Cincinnati, OH is an important part of making sure your medical facility, laboratory or chemical operation has pure deionized water available when you need it.

How deionization works

In order to understand how DI resin is affected, you need to know how the deionization process works. The ion exchange process helps get rid of all non-essential ions in the water, leaving pure water behind. The resin beads are charged with either positive or negative ions, which attract the mineral and other non-essential ions in the water. These stick to the resin while the pure water is filtered and ready for use. Over time, the resin beads will eventually lose their charge and be unable to filter the water properly.

How do I know my resin has expired?

Your water deionizer is likely equipped with a metering system, ranging from a water quality light to a digital meter. Once your water quality drops below a certain threshold, you’ll be alerted so you can exchange your DI tanks. Another alternative is to hire a company to do offsite monitoring of your water quality and exchange the tanks or make adjustments when necessary.

Factors affecting DI resin lifespan

There are four main factors that could cause your DI resin to need to be prematurely exchanged:

• High amounts of iron and debris: Iron and debris can foul your DI resin—if there’s any left behind when your resin is regenerated, it will contribute to the degradation, thus requiring you to frequently need to regenerate or replace your resin beads.
• Frequent regeneration: Choosing the right size DI system for your facilities is important. The more you have to regenerate your resin beads, the faster they will degrade. Make sure your DI system can handle the amount of water output you need so that you don’t have to regenerate as often.
• Mixing resins (don’t do it): Some water treatment salespeople will tell you that you can mix resins in your DI tank—but don’t! More unscrupulous vendors might take the resin from multiple exchange canisters, mix them and recharge them in a process called “batch regeneration.” The problem with this is that if any of the reclaimed resin has other issues, or needs additional treatment, there’s no way to tell—and then it goes right back into your DI system. Never use batch regenerated resins, especially when the quality of your work depends upon the purity of your water.
• High chlorine or chloramine content: High amounts of chlorine or chloramines in your water will actually break down the physical structure of your DI beads. Usually the beads are cylindrical, but after enough time around chlorine and chloramines, you could end up with resin sludge.

Need help learning how to care for your deionization tank in Cincinnati, OH? Call the team at Ultra Pure Water Technologies for help with your commercial and industrial water treatment systems today.

Categorised in: Deionization

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