Distilling water is a process of clarifying the water to make it pure and remove all impurities. This process is being used for many years now. In the earlier times, the water distillation process was used to purify seawater and remove salt from it to make it drinkable. But that was thousands of years ago. Nowadays, the industrial water distillation unit is mostly used in the labs; there is a constant need to use pure water.
Why is water distilled?
The water that is distilled is free from any impurities. The distillation process removes all impurities like bacteria, algae, pesticides, rust, viruses, chloride, chlorine, arsenic, copper, volatile organic compounds, etc. The organic microorganisms are removed along with the hardness of the water.
This is important for laboratories. In labs, the water is used in various chemical and biological reactions and tests. If the water has any impurity as mentioned above. The test results can get differed and obstructed. Therefore, to avoid such erratic test results, the laboratories used distilled water. This is because the chemicals tend to react with the ions, salts VOCs during the test. Also, when the water is boiled during the experiment and tests, the impurities like salts leave stains and deposits in the beaker or other apparatus. This is the reason why water distillation units are so popular now in the labs.
Process of water distillation
The water distillation process is a simple one and is based on the evaporation and condensation of the water. In the water distillation apparatus, there is a heating chamber. Here the tap water or any normal water is heated above the boiling point. After the boiling point is exceeded, the water starts turning into the stream. Now the steam goes through the condenser chamber. Here the steam is cooled down and passed through filters to filter any other contaminant. Finally, the cooled steam turns into water. This water collected finally is the distilled water.
When the water is boiled over the boiling point, the water turns into vapors. But, the contaminants like bacteria, viruses, etc., along with inorganic contaminants, stay behind. This is the principle behind water distillation.
Water distillation apparatus
Usually, for the distillation of the water, a specialized apparatus is used. The apparatus used for the distillation process is called still. Depending on the amount of water to be distilled and the level of the distillation, the type of still apparatus can be chosen. There are simple stills in the market, and there are complex ones with more capacity.
There are various still apparatuses like the wall hanging models, the cabinet models, the single distillation units, the borosilicate models, and the stainless ones. There are many water distillation unit manufacturers in India out there in the market. Laboratories should choose these units based on their efficacy, capacity, and the type of water they clean.
One should reach the companies which are positively reviewed for their services and their product quality. Water distillation is a crucial step in most chemical reactions and tests; therefore, choosing the right still apparatus will make a huge difference.
