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PRODUCT PULSE
Duplex Water Softener Launched
Resin Osmotic Shock Evaluation (ROSE)
INDION Jalshudhi - Low-cost drinking water purification
INDION Borofree Unit Developed
INDION Membrane Bio-reactor (MBR)
INDION Fluidised Media Reactor (FMR)
INDION Vehicle Wash Recycle System
INDION ISR (Iron Specific Resin)
INDION Decolourisation of Cane Sugar Remelt using Ion Exchange Process

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Water and Pesticide? The Complete Picture

Zero B Duplex Water Softener Launched

Ion Exchange (India) Ltd. has launched India's first truly automatic softener - Zero B Duplex Water Softener.

The elegant and compact Duplex Water Softener has many innovative advantages over the existing industrial type softeners which are usually adapted for homes.

Hands free design, micro controller based intelligent functions, 2000 litres per hour of non-stop soft water output even during regeneration of the softener, saving on salt consumption by setting the right salt charging levels, high product life - 5 stage short cycle ensures a clean and healthy resin media. Requires no separate pump for regeneration. Hence, saves on cost of pump and power consumption, user friendly operation and process indication, compact size: 71cm x 37cm x 77cm, lightweight: 55kg net.

The revolutionary Zero B Duplex Water Softener finds use in bungalows, launderettes, whole apartments, jacuzzis and spas at health clubs, and also as pre-treatment for industrial reverse osmosis units.

Resin Osmotic Shock Evaluation (ROSE)
One of the primary requirements of ion exchange resins is their stability towards osmotic and hydro-mechanical stress. Osmotic shock arises due to swelling and shrinking of resin during absorption and regeneration respectively. Hydro-mechanical stress is due to the physical shock during backwash. The swelling and shrinking of resin and physical beating cannot be avoided in actual operation and hence these phenomena significantly affect the life of the resin. Although this test method is not new to Ion Exchange India the procedure (and the name) has been modified to incorporate stringent analytical requirements.

Resins in sodium (cation) and chloride (anion) form, of a defined particle size, are used for Resin Osmotic Shock Evaluation (ROSE). Generally two methodologies are adopted to evaluate the resin to determine osmotic shock. One adopts the use of 5% HCl and 5% NaOH and allows the resin to regenerate slowly. Thus one cycle takes about an hour. This methodology is not generally preferred at present, primarily because it involves lot of time and imposes less stress on the resin. To improve the stress on the resin within a short period and to impose mechanical pressure on the resin, the test method was modified.

The second method now uses 15% NaOH or HCl for a period of 40 seconds. This high concentration and low contact time causes more stress on the beads because the resins are alternatively subjected to contraction and swelling every minute. In addition, the resins are washed with water at a pressure of 2 kg/cm², which imposes hydro mechanical pressure on the resin. Therefore this method is widely being practised to establish the strength of ion exchange resins.

As the resin synthesis team at R&D required this evaluation frequently, a new set up was designed and fabricated in-house using indigenous spares. Improvements were incorporated to make it more user-friendly and to generate more realistic data.

The unit is designed in such a way that the cycle counter counts only when the designed sequence of operation is completed. In case of a power shut down, the unit stops and starts with the next sequence. Therefore, cycle counting errors are avoided in this design.

Test parameters such as time, sequence and number of cycles can be programmed as per requirement. An alarm is provided to indicate the completion of predetermined cycles (default is 100 cycles). Additionally, indicators are provided to identify the nature of operation (acid, alkali or water) in progress, at any point of time during a cycle. The whole test rig is mounted on a wheeled trolley making it a mobile unit.

Easily affordable by low income sectors, a 5 mg sachet can purify 20 liters of contaminated water with respect to bacteria and turbidity.

Specially developed for simi-urban and rural areas of developing countries, INDION Jalshudi is also ideal for use during natural calamities such as floods, cyclones and earthquakes when water supplies get polluted with suspended solids, dirt and pathogenic bacteria as well as with faecal contamination. The use of INDION Jalshudi during such disasters can help prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases and epidemics. It is also ideal for use by the Defence and police forces during wartime action/exercises in remote areas.

The INDION Borofree Unit comprises three pressure vessels made of corrosion resistant material, containing resins.  It is mounted on a four wheel trolley for easy movement.

Our R&D will be looking at other applications where boron based chemicals are being handled in large volumes like glass processing, pesticide, components for nuclear reactors, refractory compounds etc.

INDION Membrane Bio-reactor (MBR)

Designed to produce high quality treated water from waste water, the INDION membrane bio-reactor (MBR) is among the latest technologies in biological treatment. The revolutionary MBR process uses submerged membranes in the biological process water tank so as to produce high quality permeate from domestic sewage, primary and secondary waste water, cooling tower blow down etc. Available in standard and customised modules. the INDION MBR is also ideal for retrofitting and for augmenting capacity/quality of existing waste water treatment plants.

The MBR can handle very high sludge concentrations in the aeration tank because of which the size of the aeration tank reduces four to fivefold. As the membranes act as a fine filter, no further treatment using sand filters, activated carbon filters, etc. is required. Some of the advantages of MBR process over conventional treatment:

• Consistent treated water quality, independent of feed variability. The MBR produces high quality treated water which can be directly fed into the reverse osmosis (RO) system; it also removes bacteria and viruses upto 4 to 6 log.
  
• Submerged applications do not require expensive “out of tank” pressure pipe work.
  
• Single packaged unit, minimal civil work and pretreatment. It is a compact system (occupies 1/2 to 1/3 the space of a conventional system) as the aeration tank size is very compact. All clarifier related problems such as sludge bulking, sludge rising, etc. are avoided as the clarifier unit itself is eliminated.
  
• Complete automated system, minimal attention and maintenance.
  
• Because of high concentrations of sludge and long sludge age periods, it generates highly stabilized sludge of low volume. It does not require sludge recycle, thus avoiding complicated sludge recycle controls. This also saves energy as recirculation pumps are absent.
  
• It does not require costly tertiary treatment units to make the effluent suitable for recycle. This also makes the treatment scheme short and compact. It does not require any chemicals such as coagulants, polymers, etc. which are required in the tertiary treatment by conventional sewage treatment plants.
  
• More than 5 years of membrane life.
  

INDION Fluidised Media Reactor (FMR)

The INDION Fluidised Media Reactor (FMR) uses the attached growth process for waste water/sewage treatment and recycle. It incorporates a single tank unit, consisting of a bar screen chamber, specially designed floating media to facilitate the attached growth process, oxygen transfer through diffused membrane aeration, lamella settler and chlorine contact tank. The system is available in mild steel and reinforced concrete.

The FMR works on the same principle as the submerged fixed film process with only one exception - the media is not fixed and floats around in the aeration tank. The main advantage of this system over the submerged fixed film process is that it prevents choking of the media. This also avoids sludge recirculation. Compared to conventional technologies the FMR is compact, energy efficient and user friendly. It also allows flexibility in design of the reactor tank. The advantages of the INDION FMR are many –

• Unique single tank design, no moving parts & easy maintenance.
  
• Attached growth process, with specially designed moving media.
  
• Compact and modular design.
  
• Minimal pumping and chemical cost, low operating cost.
  
• Flow rate for sewage treatment exceeding100 m3/d.
  

Applications of FMR include decentralised compact sewage plants for housing complexes, hotels, commercial complexes, industries and rural communities. It can also be used in industrial waste treatment in industries such as food & beverage, textile, pulp & paper, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and dairy production.

200m3/day fluidised media reactor (left) and tertiary treatment at Satyam computers office complex. Sewage is oxidised in the tank to reduce BOD.Tertiary treatment recycles waste water for toilet flushinging and gardening

INDION Vehicle Wash Recycle System
	The INDION Fluidised Media Reactor (FMR) uses the attached growth process for waste water/sewage treatment and recycle. It incorporates a single tank unit, consisting of a bar screen chamber, specially designed floating media to facilitate the attached growth process, oxygen transfer through diffused membrane aeration, lamella settler and chlorine contact tank. The system is available in mild steel and reinforced concrete. The FMR works on the same principle as the submerged fixed film process
with only one exception - the media is not fixed and floats around in the aeration tank. The main advantage of this system over the submerged fixed film process is that it prevents choking of the media. This also avoids sludge recirculation. Compared to conventional technologies the FMR is compact, energy efficient and user friendly. It also allows flexibility in design of the reactor tank. The advantages of the INDION FMR are many –

• Unique single tank design, no moving parts & easy maintenance.
  
• Attached growth process, with specially designed moving media.
  
• Compact and modular design.
  
• Minimal pumping and chemical cost, low operating cost.
  
• Flow rate for sewage treatment exceeding100 m3/d.
  

Applications of FMR include decentralised compact sewage plants for housing complexes, hotels, commercial complexes, industries and rural communities. It can also be used in industrial waste treatment in industries such as food & beverage, textile, pulp & paper, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and dairy production.

Box
Orders for the INDION fluidised media bed reactor for sewage treatment include Reliance India Ltd., ICC – Pune, SDM Technologies (Satyam Computers) and JK Cement, Rajasthan.

INDION ISR (Iron Specific Resin)
	Developed after extensive laboratory and field studies, INDION ISR (Iron Specific Resin) is an excellent catalytic media for removal of dissolved iron from ground water. Its size ranges from 0.3 to 1.2 mm, making it an ideal filter media. It produces iron free (<0.3 ppm) water, even with water containing upto 10 ppm iron. Being a catalyst, INDION ISR is not consumed in iron removal and this gives tremendous life to the media. It does not require chemicals for regeneration; only periodic back washing is needed to remove the precipitated iron and the media can be easily back washed due to its low density.
Our iron removal process using this INDION ISR can be used for domestic as well as industrial purposes, including as pretreatment to reverse osmosis systems. A very user friendly and completely self-contained solution, it is ideal for rural areas; it can be used in either gravity flow or pressurised water treatment systems with varied temperature range. It overcomes the disadvantages of current methods that require sizable space, multi-stage treatment, large quantities of chemicals, electricity, reasonably skilled manpower, careful monitoring and high capital outlay.

Sugar juice/syrup requiring treatment has the following characteristics:

• A colouring matter content that varies according to whether the juice is factory/refinery liquor/machine syrup. The molecular weight of the colourants is usually high.
  
• A high concentration, in the range of 58-60 Brix. Or 65 Brix maximum a) in most cases slightly alkaline pH b) a temperature around 80 dec.C.
  

A thorough understanding of these constraints made it possible to develop INDION 930 A and 830 S for colour removal. Their distinguishing features are:

• PH of the juice is not materially changed
  
• High porosity required fixing high molecular weight colourants by adsorption
  
• High resistance to osmotic shock to withstand sudden changes in concentration between the regeneration and exchange steps
  
• A specially designed particle size – very fine beads, associated with the viscosity of the juice would cause excessive head loss; very coarse beads would have less power of adsorption.
  
• Cleaner to handle than traditional carbon based adsorbents and cheaper than transporting the carbon to a furnace to burn off the impurities.
  

Benefits

• Good colour capacity
  
• High efficiency
  
• Good adsorption
  
• Works at higher mechanical and osmotic pressure, hence longer life
  
• High resistance to fouling
  
• Simple and economical

Fluoride Removal Units Bring Relief to Maharashtra Villages

Our demonstration pilot unit at Mangikolam site in Yavatmal district in rural Maharashtra successfully treated groundwater fluoride contamination of 8.73 ppm, reducing this to 0.304ppm, for demonstration purpose helped reduce the fluoride contamination in groundwater from 8.73 ppm to 0.304 ppm. As a result of the continuous good performance of this units, as well as our pilot defluoridation installations at Nanded and Nagpur, the Govt. of Maharashtra has approved our technology for fluoride removal from ground water. Subsequently we received an order for 67 de-fluoridation units from the Zilla Parishad of Yavatmal, all of which have been successfully installed.

Rail Neer A Boon for Commuters
The prestigious contract for production of Rail Neer packaged drinking water, received from the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for the Indian Railways was successfully commissioned on 8th May'03. Mr. Nitish Kumar, Union Minister for Railways inaugurated the plant and was accompanied by Mr. Saheb Singh Verma, Union Labour Minister and senior officials of IRCTC, our Managing Director Mr. Rajesh Sharma and senior IEI personnel.
The purified packaged water will be sold by IRCTC in one-litre tamper-proof packs under their own brand Rail Neer and will cater to lakhs of consumers daily. Rail Neer will be priced at Rs.10 for a one-litre bottle, even though it offers much superior quality. The contract consisted of design, manufacture and supply of a 5000 litre/hour capacity turnkey
packaged water plant at Nangloi village, Rohtak Road near New Delhi and includes five-year O&M services. Special care was taken in selecting material of construction for storage, conveyance and treatment of water at all stages. The entire piping from feed pump to the bottling plant is of stainless steel grade 316. The treatment plant is complete with blow moulding machine, filling machine, air compressors and DG set for electricity generation, labelling & packaging machinery and a full fledged laboratory with facilities for mineral and bacteriological analysis of the packaged water. We are also executing a similar packaged water plant for IRCTC at Danapur, Patna, which is also expected to go on-stream in 2003 and will supply Patna and the neighbouring stations.

Disaster Management Unit for Meghalaya PHED
An order for a 2 m³/h mobile drinking water treatment unit, was received from the Public Health Engineering Dept (PHED), Meghalaya. The unit includes ultrafiltration, membrane process and ozonation with provision of iron removal system and is mounted on truck.

This INDION disaster management unit was specially developed to meet the critical need for safe drinking water during disasters such as droughts, cyclones, floods and earthquakes. During these times water supplies get severely contaminated, resulting in widespread epidemics of waterborne diseases which further compound the suffering of the affected communities. The unit is capable of treating any type of surface or high salinity ground water to produce drinking water conforming to stringent IS 10500 standards.


Apart from natural disaster situations, the unit can also be used in areas which do not have drinking water facilities and by the armed forces during peace-time military exercises in remote areas. It can also be used during war situations as it is capable of treating chemical contamination of water.

Zero B Water Stations In Demand A water vending machine was set up for the Assam Regimental Kendra, Shillong, to serve drinking water at their barracks in Shillong.

The machine was inaugurated on 7th May 2003 with full Army honours. This is our first water station purchased outright for captive consumption rather than for selling water. A waterstation was also installed by the Agra Development Authority & Heritage Society at the Taj Mahal, Agra. The waterstation will provide free drinking water to the thousands of tourists who throng to this monument daily. The Zero B waterstation is low on manpower and space requirements and is ideal for entrepreneurs interested in setting up their own localised operations for supply of bottled water.

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