Why demineralized water is often better than distilled water?

• Posted on 7 July 2023
• By Team Glycol.eu
• 0

The meltwater from a glacier is so pure that it is best not to drink it. Why is that? This water contains no minerals. Therefore, she extracts them from the body. Not such a good idea. Nevertheless, pure water is often used in factories and laboratories. What is the benefit and what are the different types of pure water?tter than distilled water

The benefits of pure water

First, a distinction is made between demineralized (osmosis) water and distilled water. In both species, salts were removed from the water. We have previously written about the problems of "hard water", in other words too much salt in tap water. By using pure water you prevent problems caused by limescale deposits, for example. This means that demineralized water is suitable for use in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

Here, water is often used as an ingredient or solvent to determine the quality or safety of the product. In power plants, demineralized water is used for the cooling towers. The purity of the water prevents deposits, high maintenance costs and reduced efficiency. Finally, in microelectronics and the semiconductor industry, demineralized water is very well suited for cleaning electronic components.

In addition to industrial applications, pure water can also be used in the home. By filling a steam iron with demineralized water, you prevent limescale deposits in the iron. In addition, your windows will be streak-free when you rinse them with pure water.

The difference between demineralized and distilled water

With pure water, a distinction is made between demineralized (osmosis) water and distilled water. In both species, salts were removed from the water. However, the manner in which these salts are removed varies.

Demineralized water, also known as osmosis water, is water from which the ions have been removed using an ion exchanger. This is often a cation-anion resin. The water flows through the resin and exchanges negative ions for hydroxide ions from the resin. At the same time, the positive ions from the water are replaced by hydrogen ions from the resin. Demineralization often takes place in several steps, so that one can be sure that all ions have been removed. After that, the demineralized water no longer contains any inorganic salts. The advantage of this method is that it costs little electricity. In addition, chemicals can be used to clean the resin, but these are not necessary for the process. The impact on the environment is therefore small.

To obtain distilled water, water is boiled. The water vapor is collected and cooled in a condenser. This is then stored in a sterile tank. At the end of this process, not only the organic salts but also many organic substances have been removed. So it can be said that with demineralized water the pollution is removed from the water, while with distillation the water is removed from the pollution! However, heating and then re-cooling the water requires a lot of energy. This means that the cost of distilled water is higher than the cost of demineralized water. The environmental impact of distilled water is also much higher.

Use of demi water

Demineralized water is better for the environment and for your wallet because of its low production costs. We therefore recommend that you always carefully consider whether distilled water is absolutely necessary or whether demineralized water is sufficient. This is the case in many situations. Are you in doubt? Then we are happy to help you! Contact us and we will advise you on what type of water is suitable for your situation.