The process applied to remove magnesium, calcium and other such metal cations from hard water is known as water softening. It is much easier to clean something with detergent or soap using soft water as there is no wastage of soap or detergent because of any bonding with calcium or magnesium ions. Use of soft water also increases the life of pipes and other fittings used in plumbing as there is much less scale build-up in those pipes or fittings through which soft water flows.
Generally lime or ion-exchange resins are used for water softening. However the use of reverse osmosis membranes or Nano filters for water softening is also increasing in water softener plants in Kolkata and other such places. The domestic appliances used in our homes rely on the ion-exchange resins for the removal of ions such as magnesium and calcium which are responsible for the hardness of water. In the ion exchange process calcium or magnesium ions are exchanged with sodium or potassium ions.
Doctor Water is one of the leading suppliers of water treatment plants in India. The company has installed various softener plants in Kolkata and various cities in Assam, Bihar and Odisha. Doctor Water’s softener plant in Kolkata uses the process of reverse osmosis for removal of ‘hardness ions’ from water. In this process, a pressure gradient across a semi permeable membrane is used to overcome osmotic pressure which removes water molecules with hardness ions from the treated solution. The pores in the semi permeable membrane allow water molecules to pass through them but they trap the calcium and magnesium ions. However these membranes require regular maintenance or even replacement in some cases. In some water softening plants the method of distillation is also used.
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