Ultra-Pure Water - Know the Science Behind It

Every day around the world, tens of millions of gallons of the cleanest water possible are created, water so clean that it is regarded as an industrial solvent, absolutely central to high-tech manufacturing but not safe for human consumption. Welcome to the world of Ultra-Pure Water ( UPW ).

Four examples where UPW applications :

• Water for cleaning the surfaces of semiconductor wafers and liquid crystal panels, which must have no minute foreign particles.
• Water for steam generators for the power generating turbines needed for the stable operation of power stations.
• Refined water and injection water for medical care and pharmaceutical industries, where safety is vital in any situation. 
• Blank water for micro-analysis in analytical chemistry, directly linked with the analysis level.

For the semi-conductor industry, the water washes clean of the solvents and debris generated from an etching process which cuts up chips on a semi-conductor disc. The water has absolutely nothing in it except water molecules - not only no specks of dirt or random ions, no salts or minerals, it can’t have any particles of any kind, not even minuscule parts of cells or viruses.

Basically the source water is RO water or equivalent more cleaner process.  Ultra-pure water requires 12 filtration steps beyond RO. (For those of a technical bent, the final filter in making UPW has pores that are 20 nanometers wide, Electrical resistivity 18MΩ•cm / Electrical conductivity 0.056 µS/cm, Particulate count (>0.2μm) 20/mL or less, Viable bacteria 0.2/mL or less. )

Water is a good cleaner because it is a good solvent--the so-called “universal solvent,” excellent at dissolving all kinds of things. UPW is particularly “hungry,” in solvent terms, because it starts so clean. That’s why it is so valuable for washing semiconductors.

It’s also why it’s not safe to drink. A single glass of UPW wouldn’t hurt you. But even that one glass of water would instantly start leeching valuable minerals back out of your body.

In fact, super-clean water tastes flat, heavy, and bitter. The opposite of what we like. The appealing freshness in water comes not just from it’s temperature and its appearance, but from a sprinkling of salts and minerals that give it a crisp taste.


Conclusion

You can't and should never think of drinking Ultra-Pure Water for daily or health benefits.