Industrial Water Treatment: Solutions & Technologies

From healthcare to power generation to beverage production, a wide variety of industries rely on having access to clean and purified water to ensure that their processes can remain functioning efficiently and effectively. Water purity is not only important but is essential for these industries to produce products and services that are safe for consumers and patients, alike. Understanding the process of purifying water can be confusing and intimidating to learn about, so this blog will explain how it works, why it’s important, and provide insight into some of the technologies used to treat water.

Industrial water treatment is a crucial process that manufacturing plants and healthcare centers, like hospitals, use to ensure the water used in their production processes remains safe and clean. Certain common industrial activities, including operating boilers and cooler towers, require purified water to function since the equipment used to complete these processes can be damaged by harmful substances that are in untreated water. Substances, like algae, fungi, bacteria, and minerals, are prevalent in untreated water and as they interact with the gears and store containers in these pieces of equipment, they can wear it down, leaving it corroded, scaled, or non-functional altogether. When this happens, companies will likely need to replace the equipment, which can be a costly and unwanted expense. In addition, water treatment can help companies work towards their environmental, sustainability, and governance (ESG) goals – which are growing in importance – because the treatment purifies the water, making it safe to reuse in the processes again or to dispose of without polluting and harming the environment. Ultimately, industrial water treatment is essential for companies to reliably complete some of their most important production functions.

Although the threat of having untreated water and potentially contaminated equipment may seem intimidating, there are a variety of technologies that can be used to treat water. Depending on the severity of the water contamination and the type of contaminant present in the water, these technologies can be used together or individually to protect your equipment and make your water pure.

Filtration is the process of removing sediment and other solid contaminants from the water before it enters and is used by the equipment. There are a variety of different filters that can be installed directly into the machine and as soon as it’s attached begin filtering the water

Deionization is the process of removing charged particles from the water. Common contaminants include calcium, iron, and many chloride-based mineral salts. This process is highly effective at preventing corrosion and scaling as unpurified water will never breech the equipment.

Water softening is used to treat hard water – water that has high levels of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Similar to deionization, this purifies the water prior to any interaction with the equipment, decreasing the risk of damaging equipment.

Reverse osmosis is similar to filtration in the sense that it uses a semi-permeable membrane as a filter to remove contaminants as the water passes through. This process is separate from the equipment that uses purified water, so it also removes contaminants before they go through the machines.

 Ultraviolet (UV) treatment uses powerful UV rays to kill both viral and bacterial pathogens that have made their way into the water source. This process removes nearly all biological contaminants, making it extremely pure.

These are the five most common technologies used for industrial water treatment, but in special cases, other processes of filtration may need to be enacted.

No matter what the type of contaminant, the severity of the issue, and whether or not it needs a common form of treatment Complete Water Solutions has the professionals to help your company have safe and clean water. Our team has years of experience with industrial water treatment and has the care and precision to efficiently filter your water, making it safe to use. Contact us today for an evaluation of your water!