Related: Lab Management MOC
Summary
summary
Hard water is water with high mineral content, usually has a lot of calcium, magnesium carbonates, bicarbonates, and sulfates. Moderate health benefits, but can pose critical problems in industrial settings.
Some problems it can cause include machine breakdowns for any machines that handle water.
- restricts water flow in pipes with too much buildup
- can cause boilers/heating components to overheat - safety issue
- inefficient heating = higher energy consumption
- galvanic corrosion - one mental will corrode when in contact with another type of metal when they’re both in contact with an electrolytes
Hard water and soap - identification and machine breakdowns
Hard water and soap solutions form “soap scum” (a white precipitate) instead of lathering, because the 2+ ions destroy the “soapy” properties of soap (surfactants). So lathering in the presence of soap is usually a good indicator of hard water.
- Note: Synthetic detergents don’t form soap scum
Hard water can cause clogs in plumbing related heating
Large calcium deposits in boilers/pipes decrease heating efficiency, and can cause boilers to overheat. Similar concept for limescale deposits in tea kettles.
Water softening
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Washing soda - used in household laundry (sodium carbonate) with soap/detergent
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ion-exchange resins - replace Ca2+ ions by twice the number of sodium/potassium ions (mono cations). similar to sodium-potassium pumps