Removal of boron from potable water

Boron is a naturally occurring element most often found as boric acid or boric acid salts. It's chemical composition ranges from acid form (boric acid) to ion form. While it is most concentrated in water sources like seawater and well water due to other compounds that contain boron, it also occurs naturally in plants as a productive sugar mobilizer. Boron is a key component in the mitosis process of 

microorganismal growth making it present in plants and other products like fruits and vegetables. As boron is not a dietary requirement for humans, added sources of boron to the amount that is already consumed from foods is toxic for the human body. In 

addition, multiple salts and rocks are made up of compounds consisting of boron, which add up to the amounts of boron creating toxic effects on plants, animals, and humans alike. Toxicity affects the growth and product yield of plants and fish species suffer from high 

intakes of boron as well. Consuming only around 3 grams more than the required  daily amount can result in nausea, vomiting, blood

clotting, and any higher amounts can even be life threatening. Increased levels of boron in drinking water and soil have been correlated with individuals having arthritis. The World Health Organization (WHO) has consequently set a boron concentration limit for drinking water to be below 0.5 mg/L in addition to the standard of 1 mg/L for all other water applications.

The level of boron is associated to the level of salinity in seawater and total dissolved solids (TDS) in brackish/well water. Due to the lack of chemical charge that boron possesses, the means by which removal of boron is necessary can be quite complicated. Different water sources carry varying degrees of contaminants (compounded with boron) that are influenced by other varying factors like pH level and

temperature which require different treatment processes in order to effectively purify water for the 
intended applications.

Chelating resins are a class of ionexchange resins with reactive functional groups that chelate to metal ions. They have the same bead form and polymer matrix as usual ion exchange resin, and the variation in chelating resins arises from the nature of chelating agents linked into a polymer backbone. 

SEPLITE® LSC780 Ion Exchange Chelating Resin is a unique drinking water grade, macroporous resin designed for the removal of boron from drinking water. The resin can be regenerated using a two-step process consisting of a regeneration step to displace the boron followed by a conversion step. SEPLITE® LSC780 resin has been shown to be nearly universal in its high selectivity for boron. Salts, including bases, do not interfere significantly. The concentration of boric acid or the salt background in water also has little effect upon the selectivity. This high selectivity for boron and low risk of interference makes SEPLITE® LSC780 resin highly suitable for removal of 

boron from water derived from desalination.