Excessive Anion DI media usage

[QuickrdenU]

I guess this post is for someone smarter than me when it comes to chemistry and RO systems. I’m thinking @Randy Holmes-Farley or @Buckeye Hydro ??

I have a full RO/DI system installed after my whole house water softener with whole house sediment and carbon filters. I go through Anion media like crazy. Maybe every 100 gallons I’m changing it out. The mixed gets depleted rarely, usually only after the Anion media is spent, and I never see a change in the cation media. Cation media is first, then Anion, last is mixed ion in order of flow.

My question, is this happening because of my water softener? Or is it unrelated? Should I bypass the softener while making RO water to extend the life of my media? Will that work? Or is this all completely normal? I don’t know the science. I’m on a community well with pretty clean water. Maybe high in iron and they definitely over do it with the chlorine.

Thanks!

 

[KStatefan]

Check for CO2 in your well water.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree that CO2 is the typical explanation for rapid anion depletion. Not many things can deplete anion only.

 

[QuickrdenU]

I agree that CO2 is the typical explanation for rapid anion depletion. Not many things can deplete anion only.

So if that’s the case, I guess I just have to live with it?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So if that’s the case, I guess I just have to live with it?

No, there are ways to deal with it, such as degassing prior to sending it to the RO/DI. It's a common problem that you will find lots of threads about.

 

[QuickrdenU]

No, there are ways to deal with it, such as degassing prior to sending it to the RO/DI. It's a common problem that you will find lots of threads about.

Ok I appreciate it! I'll search now.

 

[chiplake]

I am getting the same results of blowing thru my anion resin in approx 40 gallons. Just tried degassing 50 gallons of well water for 5 days by adding about 50 gph in the water with a fluval 402 air pump and air stones to rid the CO2. Didn't work and tanked my anion filter media in about 35 gallons again. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I am getting the same results of blowing thru my anion resin in approx 40 gallons. Just tried degassing 50 gallons of well water for 5 days by adding about 50 gph in the water with a fluval 402 air pump and air stones to rid the CO2. Didn't work and tanked my anion filter media in about 35 gallons again. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

What did you do with it after degassing?

 

[TheReaperOfMars]

I am getting the same results of blowing thru my anion resin in approx 40 gallons. Just tried degassing 50 gallons of well water for 5 days by adding about 50 gph in the water with a fluval 402 air pump and air stones to rid the CO2. Didn't work and tanked my anion filter media in about 35 gallons again. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Get an icp on the water that is stripping the anion resin. Ideally post cation stage. That’s the only way to really know what is in it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Get an icp on the water that is stripping the anion resin. Ideally post cation stage. That’s the only way to really know what is in it.

What would it show that could explain it?

Rapid anion depletion and not cation is due to CO2. It was not clear to me what the OP did to the degassed well water, but just running it through a DI is not going to be the answer. It must be degassed and repressurized before the RO.

 

[QuickrdenU]

You should notice a huge change….

I drip it into a barrel now after it comes out of the RO. I run a couple air stones for a day and then pass it through the DI resin to my RO holding tank. I haven’t changed out my resin once since switching to the de-gas setup. Soooooo much better! Now I have to add a silica filter though. Always something!

 

[TheReaperOfMars]

What would it show that could explain it?

Rapid anion depletion and not cation is due to CO2. It was not clear to me what the OP did to the degassed well water, but just running it through a DI is not going to be the answer. It must be degassed and repressurized before the RO.

Chloride. Bicarbonate. Nitrate. Phosphate. Whatever it is that anion resin removes from normal water. He may send in an ICP and find his well has some insane phosphate level. If he has aerated the well water and still isn’t seeing resin usage reduction, it has to be something right?

 

[SpyC]

You should notice a huge change….

I drip it into a barrel now after it comes out of the RO. I run a couple air stones for a day and then pass it through the DI resin to my RO holding tank. I haven’t changed out my resin once since switching to the de-gas setup. Soooooo much better! Now I have to add a silica filter though. Always something!

Would it be possible to share a photo and some details of your degas setup? I have the same issue and cannot decide the best way to do it. Do you use a pump from the degas through the DI or let gravity do the work for you?

 

[QuickrdenU]

Would it be possible to share a photo and some details of your degas setup? I have the same issue and cannot decide the best way to do it. Do you use a pump from the degas through the DI or let gravity do the work for you?

It’s pretty basic. I added a few more RO tubing valves so that I could utilize the same high pressure pump for the RO as well as for pumping it through the DI after it’s been de-gassed. You just have to make sure all the valves are in the correct orientation depending on what’s going on. It seems like most of the CO2 comes out just from falling downwards out of the float valve and making a splash. I should try it one day without the air stone and see if that theory is correct. I just hate replacing resin!!! Haha

 

[chiplake]

What would it show that could explain it?

Rapid anion depletion and not cation is due to CO2. It was not clear to me what the OP did to the degassed well water, but just running it through a DI is not going to be the answer. It must be degassed and repressurized before the RO.

What would it show that could explain it?

Rapid anion depletion and not cation is due to CO2. It was not clear to me what the OP did to the degassed well water, but just running it through a DI is not going to be the answer. It must be degassed and repressurized before the RO.

It was straight well water that I tried degassing. Then I ran it straight thru the RO and DI with a booster pump at about 93psi. A

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Chloride. Bicarbonate. Nitrate. Phosphate. Whatever it is that anion resin removes from normal water. He may send in an ICP and find his well has some insane phosphate level. If he has aerated the well water and still isn’t seeing resin usage reduction, it has to be something right?

Sorry, but that is not an explanation for unbalanced consumption of the anion resin and not the cation resin. The total positive charges in water will exactly match the negative charges, and they thus deplete both resins.

The only way one can get depletion of only one or the other resin is if the water is very acidic or very basic (not typical of drinking water) or if there are uncharged ions that become charged one way or the other in one of the resins. CO2 fits that latter description, is very common in well water, and is nearly always the cause of selective anion depletion.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It was straight well water that I tried degassing. Then I ran it straight thru the RO and DI with a booster pump at about 93psi. A

Ok, that should work. Was the di new, or was left over from previous use?

What brand of di and how was it packaged? It can go bad being exposed to air for extended periods as CO2 enters it.

 

[SpyC]

Ok, that should work. Was the di new, or was left over from previous use?

What brand of di and how was it packaged? It can go bad being exposed to air for extended periods as CO2 enters it.

Besides airating the water, is there another way to help release co2 from the DI resin? I don't have to space to setup an airation area yet, hopefully once we get rid of some junk, and would like to keep the DI resin alive for longer.

 

[chiplake]

Ok, that should work. Was the di new, or was left over from previous use?

What brand of di and how was it packaged? It can go bad being exposed to air for extended periods as CO2 enters it.

It's BSR's resin sold in those air tight polymer bags and yes it was brand new and never used resin

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Besides airating the water, is there another way to help release co2 from the DI resin? I don't have to space to setup an airation area yet, hopefully once we get rid of some junk, and would like to keep the DI resin alive for longer.

You can add sodium hydroxide and convert it to sodium carbonate, which will then be largely removed by the ro membrane.