Globally the manufacture of ‘Pure Water’ is a major industry even water from natural resources such as rivers and lakes needs to be treated before it is safe to drink. Similarly, a lot of mains supply water from water authorities contains chemicals to ensure that bacteria do not grow during its transport to the end consumer, however these can also prove problematic. Condorchem Envitech works with clients to ensure that the Pure Water produced at a site is suitable for the application required by the client
Sources of Water
Most of us simply turn on a tap at home and expect ‘drinkable’ or as the correct terminology says portable water to pour out. Similarly, in industry it is expected that the water supplied to site is suitable for the requirement within the factory operations.
However, to achieve consistent levels of portable water the suppliers so in evidently have to treat this water to ensure it is safe to drink. Chemicals such as those from the Halogens range, Chlorine and Fluoride (sometimes in the form of Hydrofluoric Acid) are added. Whilst this might protect against most bacteria, it does not protect against the growth of species such as Algae. What is also common is that the pH of this water is normally acidic, whereas the recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is that drinking water should be slightly alkaline with a pH of approximately 7.5
If, however we were to draw water from a well, borehole or even a lake, we would expect at the very minimum there would have to be some form of filtration, before the water could be used.
So whilst we accept that the water we drink from a tap might not be the purest, moving on we need to understand what Pure Water is and the applications it can be used in
Making Pure Water
Purifying water, is relatively easy, what is complexed is ensuring that the purification process is 100% consistent and meets the client’s requirements all of the time
The key part Condorchem Envitech prides itself on is working with its clients to ensure that these fundamental criteria are met. Before any recommendations are made, Condorchem Envitech will work with the client taking regular samples of the water source, and then applying various technologies to ensure that consistent quality water results.
Normally before water can be purified it has to go through a series of treatment. Some might appear to be obvious, with waters extracted from Bore-Holes or Lakes requiring a minimum of filtration. However, previously we highlighted that most tap water, by the very nature that it will had had chemicals added will be slightly acidic when drunk by the consumer, and to provide Pure Water will need additional treatment. Some industrial applications for the use of Pure Water are:
In the Chemical Manufacturing industry, there is sometimes the necessity to produce Pure Water. In an attempt to reduce pollution, all new cars have Catalectic convertors fitted, some of these use an additive generally termed ‘Ad-Blue’. This is a Urea based material to assist the process, however for the Urea to work to its highest potential then it is necessary to ensure that the Pure Water is of a High Purity grade. At the very minimum filtration down to levels of <1nm are required (Nano-filtration)
For the Glass Manufacturing Industry one of the largest sectors is for the manufacture of specialist coated glass, such as for one-way glass for building and cars, to reflect back heat and keep the inside cooler. Specialist expensive chemicals are used in the manufacture of this glass and to ensure that it is effective the water carrier used to adhere them to the glass has to of an extremely Pure quality, if not and impurities are present then the glass can have what is termed as “pitting” where marks appear on the glass. As with the above example, the minimum required is for high quality filtration.
In some Food and Beverage applications the requirement for Pure Water does not have to be as stringent as in the High Risk Foods area. However, most brewers like to work with water that is consistent and therefore require their incoming raw material (water) to be consistent. It is not unheard of for major brew houses across Europe to find that their levels of Water Hardness can vary if using mains water by as much as 200mg/l (200ppm) per day. Therefore, slight modifications have to made to the water to ensure a consistent product.
Below are therefore some examples of the types of systems which Condorchem Envitech can work with the client to ensure that the correct cost effective solution is found
- Physical- Chemical Purificators – These systems usually are found in industries such as automotive and aeronautics, where the Pure Water is normally of a high quality, for sectors such as paint-shops and assembly lines
- Ion Exchange Resins – Ion exchange resins are synthetic materials, usually spheres of 0.5-1 mm of diameter, designed for industrial wastewater treatment. The actual resin composition can be determined by the application for the Pure-Water.
- Continuous Electro-De Ionization (CEDI) Ultra-Pure Water can be continuously produced by this process and uses ion exchange resins, alternated anion and cation semipermeable membranes and a continuous electric current between two electrodes.
- Filtration Systems – Condorchem Envitech are able to provide the client with a wide range of filtration systems, depending on the contaminants coming onto the plant and the purpose of the Pure Water The type of membrane depends on the particle or ion size that must be removed. The membrane range goes from micro-filtration, ultra-filtration and nano-filtration, and finally reverse osmosis.
The above solutions are just some of the technologies employed by Condorchem Envitech initially a representative from our company will visit site and then work with the client to assess the quality of the waste-water and then the final requirement for the treated wash-water.
Examples of case-studies from some of our clients are also available via our representatives alongside client testimonial’s.
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