Water Purification Technology | Description, Processes, & Importance

In any Lab, water is called the universal solvent that can dissolve any type of biomolecules. The water used in these lab experiments is called pure water. And this lab water is obtained from the laboratory water purifier after the rapid purification. The use of pure water is a mandatory element in any lab experiment and it should be purified to the level of zero impurities. 

The tap water fed into the lab water system has all kinds of impurities that can alter the experiment result.  Further, these impurities can also have a bad impact on the water purification system for laboratories. The impurities are mainly: metal ions, organic compounds, inorganic substances, other nucleases etc.  All these impurities or contaminants can interfere with the experiments executed in the lab and alters the analysis. To avoid such conditions, water purification is required. And to execute water purification, you will need a lab water system with reliable water purification technology. 

What Is Water Purification?

Water purification is a process by which the undesired elements of tap water or normal water can be eradicated.  These substances can be chemical elements, organic materials, and some biological substances. All these undesired substances are called impurities or contaminants. It has to be removed from the water to get pure water for lab work. The process can employ several other processes to get rid of the impurities.  The process of water purification is called a purification technology that is well fitted in any water purification system for laboratory use.  However, some processes of water purification are also traditional. These traditional purification processes are as follows:

• Distillation – In this process,  the liquid is converted into vapor and then again into liquid form.  In the course of this conversion, the tap water loses its impurities and the left wate becomes good for the lab experiments.
• Deionization Process – In this process, the deionization process is carried on by removing ions from the dissolved salts in water. All kinds of salts are removed with this process to obtain lab water. Some lab water systems have deionizing chambers that can perform this task.
• UV -Radiation – In this process, the UV light is made to pass through the tap water. The UV light damages the cell wall of many bacterial cells dissolved in the water and makes the cells incapable of reproducing further.  In this way, UV light eradicates the biological impurities from the water.

The water purification processes also reduce the concentration of suspended particles in the water.  The parasite concentration can be also reduced by effective water purification by a water purification system for laboratories. The laboratory water systems are stacked with these water purification processes in the form of technologies.

In some water purification large plants, the source of normal water is the natural bodies like rivers and lakes. The water collected from these water bodies is also full of many contaminants which are not considered good for lab applications. In these types of water,  the pre-treatment of water is required.  This pretreatment of water makes the process of water purification more effective and good. As a lab fellow, you have to install a good water purification system for the laboratory to obtain pure water. You can also check any water purification system for laboratory prices on the internet for more options. 

The Water Purification Technologies Or Processes

The market is full of many water purification technologies that can help you in obtaining good pure water. The water used in the lab experiments is free of the contaminants that are removed with the extensive levels of the purification system.  You can install a lab water system of good technology and obtain the type of water required for the experiments.

In some cases, where the impurities are in larger amounts. In that case, the water pre-treatment is done. In pre-treatment of water, the sample of water is screened for the number of impurities. In further cases, chlorination is also done to reduce the contaminant’s growth. These all things help in the further steps of water purification.

Some of the commonly used water purification technologies are described in brief. These are as follows:

1.  Ion-Exchange Or Electrodeionization Technology

This electrodeionization technology technique is an electrically-driven process. The water purification system for laboratories uses this technique for the purification process. The potable water or tap water is fed in between the electrodes namely cation and anions.  With the help of electricity, the electrodes get charged and the impurity gets attached to the oppositely charged electrodes. The ion-exchange membranes accompany the process and help in trapping the impurities of normal tap water.  The potable water fed into the chamber of ion exchange, the water comes along with different types of impurities. These impurities become charged and exchange themselves with the hydrogen ions.  Hence, make the water impurity free. A laboratory water purifier has this chamber from which you can obtain the pure water for lab applications. In some lab water systems, the chamber also has resin beds which promotes the water purification process.

2.  Activated Carbon Particle Technology

Carbon is present in nearly all the things around us. Carbon is the vital unit of this water purification technology. The water purification system for laboratories uses this technique to remove impurities from the tap water. The carbon used here is in an activated state which absorbs the impurities present in the tap water making it pure.  There is a separate chamber for the activated carbon process where the absorption process is done. All activated carbon particles absorb the impurities in the chamber of a lab water system to execute water purification. The activated carbon technique is also useful in household water systems.  However, it is extensively used in the laboratory for research work.

3.  Reverse Osmosis Technology

This technology is commonly used in a water purification system for laboratory use. In this technique, the reverse osmosis process is carried out by the special membrane. This membrane is semi-permeable in nature which only allows finer particles to go through it. The larger particles are left in the membrane which gets trapped in it. These membranes come associated with the cartridges used in a lab water filtration system.  Type III pure water is obtained through this system. Reverse osmosis is executed in terms of concentrations of the impurities and water. 

Importance Of Water Purification In Lab

As discussed above, that water is the most important part of the lab. It is required in every step of lab applications. The lab applications can vary from simple chemical experiments to complex and analytical experiments. All these experiments require water in the pure state for the research work. The water has great importance in the lab. Without water, only a few experiments can be executed. For that purpose, rapid and consistent water purification is required. It is performed by a water purification system for laboratory use.

Some other important uses of water purification are as follows:

• Water purification ensures a consistent supply of pure water to the lab.
• Once the water gets purified by the purification technologies, it cannot start to contaminate in a lab.
• The analytical experiments become easy with the usage of pure water from a lab water purification system.

Conclusion

From the above paragraphs, you have seen how normal tap water gets purified with some techniques. It is important to purify the water before its implementation in the lab work. It is always advised to install a reliable water purification system for the laboratory to obtain the lab water.