The Ultrapure Water: The Need Of Lab Application

In any kind of laboratory work, water is required in a pure state. Here, pure state means the stark absence of impurities and other contaminants of water. It is observed that impurity-free water gives the best and reliable results in lab work. To obtain the kind of lab water, the researchers and scientists install a lab water purification system. There are many kinds of water purifiers available in the market that can produce lab water. But the production of ultrapure water (Type I) is done by some specific lab water purifiers. As a researcher, you can check any water purification system for laboratory price and purchase it at your convenience. As the name suggests, pure water is free of any kind of contaminants that can alter your analysis experiments in the lab.  

Before settling for a laboratory water purifier, determine the type of pure water you want for your experiments.  Ensure the water purification system produces the type of water you need.  In most of the analytical studies and experiments, ultrapure water is required. In this case, if you use some other type of lab water, you may get falter results at your experiments. Thus, it is important to know about your water requirements before the lab experiments.

Most of the industrial work is done with the usage of ultrapure water. This is the first type of pure water that is free of minute impurities also.  Let’s know more about ultrapure water in the following section.

 

What Is Ultrapure (Type1) Water?

As described above, ultrapure water is free of any kind of impurities.  It is purified to the highest standards to make it contaminants-free.  This level of purification is reached through the implementation of a lab water system. Ultrapure water  has a low level of atomic contamination that results in having a resistivity of 18.2m-ohm-cm. The total organic content is also low for this type of water. Even the small nucleus is absent in the water. Ultrapure water is widely used in the semiconductor industry, in producing cells. In addition to this, ultrapure water has the following applications in the laboratory:

Further, ultrapure water also finds its use in many simple and complex experiments in the lab. The biosafety labs also implement ultrapure water for performing experiments. A water purification system for laboratories of specific purification technology produces the type I water in necessary volumes.

 

The Production Of Ultrapure Water

Ultrapure water is called the purest form of water that exists in the lab. It has low levels of TOC, atomic substances, and other minerals. The production of ultrapure is the result of the combination of various water purification technologies which are as follows:

All the above technologies are needed for the removal of different types of impurities from the fed water. These impurities are harmful to the lab experiments as they can alter the experiment results to a considerable point. These techniques are added to a water purification system for laboratory use to obtain ultrapure water. Some water purifiers contain the first three in a sequential manner, but the last two are used up for ensuring the purity of ultrapure water. It is seen that if the purity of ultrapure water reduces to 1%, the whole experiment can get affected. So, it is mandatory to ensure the purity of water before using it in any lab application.  

 

The production process of ultrapure water is carried out in the following ways :

1.  The Pre-treatment Of Fed Water

The water that is to be fed into the lab water purification system is full of impurities. And to produce ultrapure water, it is necessary to eliminate all such contaminants. In the case of ultrapure water,  only some ingredients are present in the range of ppt ( parts per trillion). To achieve the complete purification of fed water to produce ultrapure water, pre-treatment is required.

Pre-treatment is the process where the fed water is treated with some chemicals to remove the large contaminants. This process is carried out before the implementation of the lab water purification system.  This process removes a considerable amount of impurities from the water which is fed to the water purification system for laboratory.  The chlorination is carried out in this process to make the water good for the lab water system.  The quality of raw water also affects the pre-treatment process of water. In an individual case, the desired ultrapure water qualification is tailored in this process.  As a researcher, you can also make the pre-treatment process more elaborate by adding other simple techniques of water purification. After the pre-treatment process, the fed water is ready to be fed to the water purification for laboratory use.

2.  The Main Purification Technology Used In The Production Of Ultrapure Water

As mentioned above, the production of ultrapure water requires a combination of purification technologies.  These technologies are present in a lab water purification system for the laboratory in a sequential manner.  For an instance, let’s look to this sequential production of ultrapure water using the above-mentioned techniques

  • In the synthetic carbon method, the water is meant to flow between the cartridges made up of carbon. This carbon is in the activated state that absorbs the impurities to its surface.  The pre-treated water‘s impurities get absorbed in this step and move ahead for further purification. Activated carbon has the capacity of absorbing the particulate impurities of the water. Hence,  makes the water free of particulates.
  • In the ion-exchange method, the deionizers participate.  The electricity is used here to migrate the charged impurity particles to the oppositely charged electrodes.  Here, the water’s impurity ions are exchanged with the hydrogen ions.  This makes the water free of all suspended gas ions. Resin beds are also there which helps in the ion-exchange process in this method.
  • In the microfiltration process, the water is purified to the micron level.  It means that the micron particles present in the water are trapped in the microfilters of a laboratory water purifier. These microfilters do not allow any micro impurity particle to seep through it. Thus purifies the water and makes it micro-particle free.  This microparticle can be small suspended particles present in the range of ppb (parts per billion ).
  • The additional methods are used to ensure that the ultrapure water is present in its real purity level.  In this technique the UV -light treatment is used.  UV  radiation is harmful to the biological entities of fed water. The radiation reduces the bacteria and other microbe’s ability to multiply. It happens because of the destruction of their reproductive material by UV radiation.
  • One more step of purification can be added to the production of ultrapure water. The usage of ultrafiltration membranes. These membranes are highly specified for the production of ultrapure water. The membrane is semi-permeable which allows the water to pass through it but restricts the movement of large impurities.  It can be possible that some impurities can sneak off from the above process of water purification. In this case, the ultrafiltration membrane is used. This ensures that the water produced from a lab water purification system is completely free of impurities.

Final Polishing Of Ultrapure Water

After the minute purification of fed water, the ultrapure water is set for the final round of polishing. This process is done before feeding the ultrapure water in distribution systems. The polishing system is also called a loop system.  This is the final stage of ensuring that the ultrapure water is present at its highest quality level. Ultrafiltration and UV irradiation can also be used in this process. The polisher mixer beds are present to purify the water in a semicircle loop system. After this final treatment of water, the ultrapure water becomes ideal for lab applications.

Conclusion

The ultrapure water is considered the highest pure water type in a lab.  It is produced with the usage of some water purification technologies in a lab water system. The polishing system ensures its real purity and makes it a good fit for lab work.  Ultrapure water has its importance in a lab, so it should be produced with the highest quality level.


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