Contact & services
Introduction
I am available for consulting jobs in the field of ion exchange. This includes:
My name is François de Dardel. I graduated at the Federal Polytechnic School in Zürich, Switzerland. I have worked more than 38 years in the field of ion exchange, of which 25 years with Rohm and Haas, in more than 60 different countries. I can work in four languages:
- French
- English
- German
- Spanish
I have previously done training, written reports, prepared ion exchange projects, and presented conferences in each of these languages, in about 40 countries.
I am based in France and Switzerland, and I am ready to travel.
I can be reached at: . I will be happy to discuss the scope and conditions of a possible collaboration.
Training
I can provide training in the following fields:
- Water chemistry
- Ion exchange basics
- Resin structure, properties and applications
- Types of ion exchange plants (reverse flow regeneration, packed beds, stratified beds, mixed beds)
- Design criteria to apply for preparing an ion exchange project
- Water softening and demineralisation
- Reverse osmosis permeate polishing
- Condensate polishing
- Boron removal
- Nitrate removal
- Other ion exchange applications
- Use of the Rohm and Haas IXCalc software[1]
The training is closely adapted to the requirements of the audience. I can supply typical training programmes of 1, 2, or 3 days.
Projects
I can help water treatment companies and general engineering firms in the following areas:
- Prepare ion exchange demineralisation projects
- Check general specifications for ion exchange projects
- Optimise previously designed plants for a better chemical efficiency (reducing running costs), provide minimum size designs (reducing investment costs)
- Offer new, alternative ion exchange options
- Prepare condensate polishing projects
Optimisation
Optimising an ion exchange system includes:
- Review of the overall process
- Raw and treated water quality
- Review of the resin types
- Review of the regeneration conditions
- Possible transformation of the plant to increase its efficiency
In most cases, the optimisation of an ion exchange system brings considerable savings in regeneration chemicals and ensures good treated water quality. Spending a little money on optimisation can bring economical operation as well as long term peace of mind.
Trouble-shooting
I have an efficient trouble-shooting methodology covering:
- Treated water quality problems
- Throughput problems
- Pressure drop problems
The method has been thoroughly thought through and proven at many customer sites, and is based on the expertise of several ion exchange resin specialists. However, it requires the customer to supply several pieces of information, such as a description of the plant and the composition of feed water (updated water analysis).
[1] Users of IXCalc should contact their Dow Chemical Water and Process Solutions representative to get an up to date version of the software. Last version is IXCalc 2.1.3.
