Deionisation is a process that’s been used in industrial water treatment for several decades. Effective for the removal of minerals, deionisation employs ion exchange to ensure the removal of contaminants. A positively-charged anion resin attracts the negative contaminant ions, whilst the negatively-charged cation resin removes the positively-charged contaminants.

Before choosing any water deionisation system for your facility, however, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Industrial water deionisation can be an excellent alernative to reverse osmosis. The deionisation process can be accomplished in two ways: via the use of charged resin beds, and by using electrical charges.

Deionisation Using Resins

Conventional deionisation (DI) involves the use of chemically-charged resins. These resins reside either in separate chambers, or together in what is known as mixed-bed format. Regardless of the format used, water is treated in the same way; it is passed through a cation resin, where all cations in the water are removed. Then, the water passes through an anion resin, which removes all the water’s anions.

The terms ‘deionisation’ and ‘demineralisation’ are often used interchangeably, even by those in the industry. But are there any real differences in DI water vs. demineralised water? Yes, and each process can make a difference to what you may be manufacturing.

Most industrial metal and plastics surface finishing process lines include a Deionised water rinse stage. This stage is invariably to rinse the components and ensure that no contaminants are left on the surface of the workpiece.

This process is critical to ensure good surface adhesion for whatever the component is then being coated with.

It is still the practice in many surface finishing processes to use the Deionised water in the rinsing process and then allow it to overflow to drain. This practice has implications in water cost, effluent discharge cost, regeneration and effluent treatment chemical cost, product quality and Deionised water quality.

Maintaining the quality of water in any facility is a constant challenge. This is especially true in facilities that require pure water for manufacturing. Deionisation produces water in its purest form, free of chemicals, minerals and other impurities. This article will explain more about how deionisation affects chemical impurities in water.

High quality manufacturing water is essential in the pharmaceutical sector to ensure safe, compliant products. In your pharmaceutical business, deionised water is necessary for several applications, including the preparation of culture media, the creation of aqueous solutions, and the cleaning of apparatus and containers. You also know how versatile deionised water is, able to be used as a raw material, an ingredient or a solvent.

There are several ways of creating bacteria-free water, each with their own considerations. Two methods used by many facilities are deionisation and electro-deionisation. Both have their own advantages, but is one way better than the other? This article will discuss both methods in detail.

An increasing number of purified water system users have changed over to RO. This is mostly born about by a desire to get away from the use and storage of regeneration chemicals. A further benefit is the removal of a chemical discharge during regenerations.

The truth is that in many cases conventional Deionisers are still the best solution. There are many users who will always use reverse osmosis because they value the physical barrier and validity that a performing RO membrane provides. However, water consumption and capital cost should always be considered when making the choice.

These Pro’s and Con’s may assist in an informed choice.

Sodium, potassium, sulphate and chloride are among the many minerals which you may need to be removed as part of your industrial water purification system. The ideal way to remove these and other minerals from your facility’s water is via either deionisation or reverse osmosis.