Patent ID: 6878286

Claim:
A process for continuously removing nitrate ion contaminant from nitrate ion-contaminated water comprising: with a controller, feeding said contaminated water through a first manifold to individually-valved first headers each directly adjacent to a first opening into each of a first subset of a plurality of immobile vessels, each containing between said first opening and a second opening an ion exchange resin bed capable of binding nitrate contaminant from the contaminated water and yielding reduced nitrate level water and a nitrate-contaminated resin bed, with a controller, removing reduced nitrate level water through the second opening from each of the vessels in the first subset, and passing said reduced nitrate level water through a second individually-valved header directly adjacent to the second opening and through a second manifold to a reduced nitrate level water discharge; with a controller, feeding regenerant solution to an individually-valved header directly adjacent to a first or second opening on one or more additional vessels making up a second subset of the plurality each such vessel containing a nitrate-contaminated resin bed, with a controller, passing the regenerant solution over the nitrate-contaminated resin bed so that the regenerant displaces the nitrate contaminants off of the nitrate-contaminated resin bed to yield a regenerated resin bed and spent regenerant solution which is removed from the other opening on the vessel and through another individually-valved header directly adjacent to this opening, with a controller, feeding rinse water to an individually-valved header directly adjacent to a first or second opening on one or more additional vessels making up a third subset of the plurality each such vessel containing a regenerated resin bed, and with a controller, passing the rinse water over the regenerated resin bed to yield a rinsed, regenerated resin bed and used rinse water which is removed from the other opening on the vessel and through the individually-valved header directly adjacent to this opening.