Water plays a crucial role in various industries and daily life. In Thailand, the demand for high-purity water has increased across multiple sectors, leading to the widespread use of demineralized water. But what is demineralized water, and how does it benefit different applications?
Understanding Demineralised Water
Demineralized water is water that has had most of its mineral content removed through ion exchange, reverse osmosis, or distillation processes. It is free from dissolved salts, making it highly pure and suitable for specialized uses. However, a common question arises: is demineralized water the same as distilled water? While both are purified, they are not identical. Distilled water is purified through boiling and condensation, while demineralized water is treated using ion exchange or membrane filtration, making their production methods distinct.
What Is the pH of Demineralised Water?
A key characteristic of demineralized water is its pH level. What is the pH of demineralized water? Typically, freshly produced demineralized water has a pH close to 7, which is neutral. However, due to its high purity, it readily absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, causing the pH to drop slightly and become more acidic over time.
Benefits of Demineralised Water in Thailand
The use of demineralized water offers numerous benefits across various industries in Thailand:
- Industrial Applications: It is widely used in power plants, chemical manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries where high-purity water is essential for preventing scaling and corrosion.
- Laboratories and Medical Use: Demineralised water is crucial in laboratories, medical facilities, and electronics manufacturing, where impurities can affect precision and product quality.
- Automotive and Battery Production: It serves as a key component in car batteries and cooling systems, preventing mineral buildup that can reduce efficiency.
- Cosmetic and Skincare Production: Many cosmetic manufacturers use demineralized water to ensure product stability and purity.
- Food and Beverage Industry: It is used in food processing and beverage production to maintain consistency and hygiene.
Ion Exchange: Leading the Way in Demineralised Water Solutions
INDION New Generation Swift Softener (Short Cycle Softening Plant):
The INDION New Generation Swift Softener is designed to remove scale-forming ions like calcium and magnesium from water effectively. Its standout feature is the shorter regeneration time, making it ideal for short-cycle operations. This lightweight and easy-to-install system boasts a quick 30-minute regeneration cycle. Assembled and tested at the factory, all units are ready for installation and commissioning within a day. With auto-operation and low maintenance, it ensures hassle-free usage. Key features include an automatic unit with a multiport valve that can withstand pressures up to 5.5 kg/cm2, a special grade of monosphere resin, low wastewater volume, and a short operating cycle of just 3 hours. It tolerates hardness up to 600 ppm and is constructed with durable fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP). Available in seven models, it offers flow rates ranging from 3.5 m3/h to 20 m3/h, catering to various requirements.
INDION Layered Bed Anion System
The INDION® Layered Bed Anion (LBA) unit is an innovative solution to maximize efficiency and minimize costs. This single-vessel system combines two types of resins, INDION LBA-WB and INDION LBA-SB, in a layered configuration with downflow service. This setup delivers the high chemical efficiency of a traditional two-bed system within one vessel, significantly reducing the need for additional equipment, piping, and valves. The result is excellent treated water quality and optimal use of regenerants, making the system both cost-effective and efficient. The INDION LBA system offers several advantages, including capital cost savings, a smaller footprint, high throughput capacity, and lower operating costs. Its contemporary design also ensures easy integration into existing systems, providing the lowest cost of production for demineralized water.
INDION Layered Bed Cation System
The INDION® Layered Bed Cation Unit is an innovative single-vessel system featuring layers of two resins. It combines INDION weak acid cation resin on top of INDION strong acid cation resin with a downflow service. This design delivers the high chemical efficiency of a two-bed weak acid cation and strong acid cation system within one vessel, eliminating the need for additional vessels, associated piping, and valves. The system enhances the chemical regeneration of the strong acid-cation resins, ensuring superior treated water quality and optimal regenerant utilization. Key advantages include capital cost savings, a lower footprint, and high efficiency in chemical usage due to its substantial throughput capacity.
INDION Elegant: Advanced Twin Bed Deioniser
The INDION Elegant system revolutionizes water treatment with its twin-bed deioniser incorporating state-of-the-art counter-current flow ion exchange technology previously only available in large, custom-designed plants. Utilizing strong acid cation (SAC) and strong base anion (SBA) resins in columns, the system offers optional features like a degasser tower (DGT) and a layered bed anion (LBA) column to produce high-quality demineralized water at significantly lower capital and operating costs. The exceptionally compact, skid-mounted design on a corrosion-resistant frame includes stainless steel pumps and offers a standard range of 10–120 – 120 m³/h in either manual or PLC automatic control modes. It uses INDION uniform particle-size resins in a counter-current mode to produce water with a conductivity of 1–10 μS/cm and reactive silica of 10–30 ppb. Optional HMI provides system status read-outs, audible alarms, and no flow alarms. With a smaller footprint than conventional demineralized plants, INDION Elegant ensures minimal installation and commissioning time and cost.
INDION SWIFT 5Gx Series: Short Cycle Rapid Regeneration
The latest INDION Swift 5Gx series brings a family of automatic twin-bed deionisers, utilizing advanced counter-flow ion exchange technology, previously exclusive to large custom plants. With a regeneration time of just 35 minutes and a minimum service cycle of four hours, the need for standby plants and large water storage volumes is significantly reduced. This exceptionally compact series is skid-mounted on a corrosion-resistant frame, which includes a stainless steel multi-purpose pump. This pump not only optimizes plant performance during service and regeneration but also offers several recirculation options to maintain high water quality in the treated water tank. Key features of the INDION Swift 5Gx series include enhanced bacterial control, reduced treated water storage costs, near-neutral effluent, and high-quality treated water with conductivity between 1-10 µS/cm. Additionally, it boasts low operating costs, a quick start-up time, and a low footprint, making it an efficient and economical solution for high-quality water needs.
INDION SWIFT Plus Demineralizer
The latest Indion Swift Plus range features advanced automatic twin bed deionizers with state-of-the-art counter-flow ion exchange technology, previously found only in large, custom-designed plants. These rapid regeneration units are volume-controlled and pre-programmed in a PLC based on the type of feed water, allowing for a swift 35-minute regeneration after a minimum service cycle of two hours. This minimizes the need for a standby plant and reduces the storage of large water volumes. The Indion Swift Plus is exceptionally compact, skid-mounted on a corrosion-resistant frame, and includes a stainless steel multi-purpose pump. Key features include mixed-bed quality water at minimal cost, an additional cation polishing stage for enhanced quality, an average resistivity of purified water at 10 MΩ·cm with neutral pH, a small footprint, and high chemical efficiency. The Swift Plus delivers up to 330 m³/day on feed water of 100 ppm total anion feed, with no need for additional regenerant chemicals and a quick 35-minute regeneration time.
INDION New Generation: Two-Bed Deionisers with Degasser Tower
The INDION Industrial Two-Bed Upflow Deionisers Type CA and CDA units are designed to meet the requirements for producing small quantities of demineralized water, with flow rates ranging from 1.0 to 15.0 m3/h. For larger demands, flow rates can be increased to 35 m3/h by installing multiple units in parallel. These free-standing, compact units are easy to install and maintain. The CA units come equipped with all necessary components for the regeneration of ion-exchange resins. Constructed entirely of plastic, they are corrosion-resistant and require minimal maintenance. The modular design allows for easy capacity enhancement, making them a flexible and efficient solution for your deionization needs.
Conclusion
Demineralized water is a vital resource for various applications in Thailand, offering unmatched purity and efficiency. Understanding what is demineralized water, how it differs from distilled water, and its pH characteristics can help industries and consumers make informed choices.
