Focused on the research and development and production of resin materials and resin end products - Hebei Lijiang

Crushing of resin pellets


Release Time:

2015-04-16

 

  Currently, the ion exchange resins used for chemical desalination are all complete spherical particles. During use, it is normal for a small amount of resin to break due to wear, swelling, and shrinkage. These broken resin particles accumulate in the resin bed, increasing water flow resistance and affecting the normal operation of the equipment. Therefore, they should be removed during the backwash process of the ion exchanger. Under normal circumstances, the annual loss rate of resin is shown in Table 1. When the breakage rate and loss rate of resin particles significantly exceed the normal values, it can be considered that the resin has a breakage problem.

Table 1 Annual Loss Rate of Ion Exchange Resin

Resin Name

Annual Loss Rate (%)

Fixed Bed 001×7

<5

Fixed Bed 201×7

<10

Moving Bed

<10-15

 

Resin particles may break during storage, transportation, and use. Common causes include:

1. Poor manufacturing quality. During resin production, improper control of process parameters can cause partial or large amounts of resin particles to crack or break, resulting in low crushing strength and low post-grinding spherical rate of the resin particles.

2. Freezing. Resin particles contain a large amount of water inside. When stored or transported below zero degrees Celsius, this water freezes and expands, causing the resin particles to crack. Frozen resin shows many cracks under a microscope and will exhibit severe breakage shortly after use. To prevent resin from freezing, it should be stored at 5-40°C and avoid transportation during freezing periods.

3. Drying. Resin particles exposed to air gradually lose their internal moisture and shrink. When dry resin is immersed in water, it rapidly absorbs moisture and swells, causing cracking and breakage. Therefore, resin should be kept sealed during storage and transportation to prevent drying. For resin that has already dried, it should first be soaked in saturated brine, using the high ion concentration in the solution to inhibit particle swelling, then gradually diluted with water to reduce cracking and breakage.

4. Effect of osmotic pressure. Under normal operation, resin particles experience internal stress from expansion or contraction during failure. Repeated expansion and contraction during long-term use is the main cause of cracks or breakage in resin particles. The speed of resin swelling and shrinking depends on the rate of resin phase transition, which in turn depends on the salt concentration and flow rate of the influent water. Gel-type resins used for natural water desalination generally have a maximum flow rate of no more than 40 m/h, and for condensate water desalination, no more than 60 m/h. Macroporous resins, due to their strong skeletal structure and higher porosity, can withstand higher phase transition speeds, with condensate water flow rates up to 100 m/h.

Table 2 shows the results of resin osmotic pressure experiments. It can be seen that repeated acid and alkali phase transitions strengthen the effect of osmotic pressure changes on resin cracking, and also that repeated phase transitions are the main cause of resin breakage. During regeneration, due to the high concentration of the solution, ion pressure reduces the volume change of resin particles, lowering the impact of osmotic pressure, so resin particle breakage generally does not occur.

Table 2 Cracking Rate (%) of Resin After Repeated Phase Transitions

Resin Type

Gel-type Resin

Macroporous Resin

New Resin

6.9

0

Resin After 100 Repeated Acid and Alkali Phase Transitions

80.5

0.3

 

Keyword: