Heavy Duty Industrial Water Softener

Double Pass, IWS Industrial Softener System

Most commercial and industrial water softeners operate in alternating mode, having one softener tank online while the other softener tank is offline. This mode of operation creates an environment that fosters hardness leakage, increased operating and environmental costs, salt waste and a higher chance of nonperformance due to having a single point of failure. (Looking for even more risk reduction? See our three-tank water softener solution: the 3-tank IWS Softener.)

IWS High Efficiency Softener Systems Are Ideal for Critical Applications In:

• Manufacturing
• Pharmaceutical
• Food and Beverage
• Dairy
• Reverse Osmosis Pretreatment
• Boiler Feed Water Softening
• Hospitals
• Oil and Gas
• Medical Buildings
• Surgery Centers & Healthcare Facilities
• Correctional Facilities
• Large Government Buildings
• Universities

New! Triple Tank IWS Industrial Water Softeners

IWS Redundancy Risk Reduction:

With the double pass, worker polisher design, both softeners are online all the time, which reduces the risk of poor water quality shutting down or limiting your process. If one softener tank were to fail, the other tank would still soften the water with no lack of soft water at any time. This effectively eliminates the largest single point of failure common in standard softener systems.

Performance – IWS High Water & Salt Efficiency:

Better performance and higher efficiency can be achieved by having both water softener tanks online all the time passing through one softener and then a second. Lower and more efficient brining rates can achieve water quality similar to that of higher brining rates by having the first softener remove most of the hardness and the second polish the water. Most large industrial and commercial water softeners are regenerated with 15 pounds of salt per cubic foot of resin. Higher water quality is obtained than with lower salting rates, but efficiency is lost. Using a lower brining rate but flowing in a worker polisher design can cut back salt consumption by upwards of 40%, while still reducing hardness leakage and water consumption. The double pass, worker polisher design of this new patent pending softener system design offers the following performance advantages in regard to hardness removal and efficiency.

• Continuous hardness leakage is closer to zero.
• Endpoint hardness leakage is vastly diminished.
• Starting point hardness leakage is minimized.
• Less salt is used to achieve better water quality.
• Less water is used in regeneration steps reducing water waste.

High Peak Flow Rates:

For high flow rate scenarios, the polishing softener can be pulled online so the system runs in parallel regardless of which unit is in lead or lag (worker or polisher) position to satisfy peak flow rates. When flows reduce back to normal levels, the system returns to a double pass configuration. The system is bi-directional, meaning either softener tank can be in the lead or lag position.

IWS Failsafe Softener vs. Standard Alternating Softener:

Standard industrial water softener systems have the following disadvantages concerning hardness leakage and risk of poor water quality.

• Water in the tank and piping of the standby softener has been sitting stagnant for several hours to several days causing poor water quality due to high starting point hardness leakage.
• At the end of the softener service cycle, end point leakage occurs as the resin nears exhaustion and hardness makes its way to your process.
• Piping design, materials of construction and softener control has not been optimized to minimize hardness leakage.

The IWS failsafe softener system doesn’t have these disadvantages as neither softener is ever offline. Hardness leakage from the lead softener is removed by the polishing softener. This, paired with special materials of construction and dead leg minimization piping design, results in minimal potential for hardness leakage and softener failure to ensure your production is never shut down or compromised by high hardness in your process water.

Calculate industrial water softener operating and salt costs.

For more information on double pass, high efficiency softener systems, consulting engineering or specialized sizing, contact us at info@industrialh2osolutions.com or 800-820-9021. Also see our commercial softeners for less demanding applications.