RO Water for Special Applications: Lab Work, Aquariums, and More
While reverse osmosis (RO) systems are commonly used to filter drinking water in homes and offices, RO water has many other applications beyond the kitchen sink. The ultra-pure water produced by RO can meet the specialized needs of scientific labs, commercial facilities, agriculture, and even home aquarium hobbyists.
Let's explore some of the top examples of using RO filtered water for specific tasks and purposes beyond just clean drinking water.
RO Water in Laboratory Work
Scientific laboratories require water of exceptional purity for experiments and processes like:
- HPLC - High-performance liquid chromatography utilizes pure water to analyze complex chemical mixtures. RO water prevents contamination of samples.
- PCR - Polymerase chain reaction amplifies DNA sequences. Impure water can degrade reagents and skew results.
- Glassware Cleaning - RO water's neutral pH and low mineral content prevent residue buildup on glassware.
- Buffer Solutions - Pure water ensures accuracy of chemical buffer solutions used to calibrate pH in experiments.
- Cell & Tissue Cultures - Water used in growth media for cells must be contaminant-free to prevent biological disruption.
- Electrophoresis - Separating macromolecules via electric current needs complete water purity to prevent interference.
By removing dissolved minerals, organics, microbes and nucleases, RO water provides the ultra-high purity required for precision lab work. RO systems often utilizeadditional UV sterilization or deionization polishing to achieve maximum water quality for scientific applications.
Commercial & Industrial Uses for RO Water
Beyond laboratories, RO water also plays an important role in various manufacturing and industrial processes:
- Electronics - Ultrapure water prevents mineral buildup on circuitry in semiconductors and other electronics.
- Pharmaceuticals - RO water ensures drugs, injectables, and?? remain free of hazardous impurities.
- Power Generation - High-pressure RO systems provide makeup water for steam generation at power plants.
- Autoclaves - Sterilizing medical and lab equipment requires impurity-free RO water to prevent contamination.
- Laundries - Requiring soft, contaminant-free water makes RO ideal for industrial laundering of linens, uniforms, etc.
- Car Washes - Spot-free rinse water is essential for professional car washes. RO provides this without water spotting.
By tailoring RO systems with additional filtration, softening, and DI polishing, ultrapure water can be produced for even the most demanding commercial and industrial applications.
RO Systems for Agriculture & Livestock
Farmers and ranchers also utilize RO water for:
- Irrigation - Removing minerals from well water prevents saline buildup and promotes crop health.
- Animal Drinking - Livestock and poultry often refuse to drink hard, mineralized water. RO makes water taste fresh.
- Pesticides/Herbicides - RO provides neutral, pure water to mix with agricultural chemicals for effective application.
- Hydroponics - Mineral-free RO water allows full control over nutrient solutions for hydroponic crop cultivation.
- Equipment Cleaning - RO prevents mineral scale accumulation on irrigation systems, barn equipment, and farm tools.
Though additional treatment is sometimes required, RO forms the backbone for producing water with the proper purity level for many agricultural uses.
RO Filtered Water for Aquariums
For home aquarium hobbyists, RO water's purity provides major benefits:
- Adds No Minerals - Unlike tap water, RO water won't raise TDS/hardness levels in aquariums. This avoids constant partial water changes.
- Removes Chlorine - RO filtration eliminates chlorine which is toxic to fish. It also gets rid of chloramines which are difficult to neutralize.
- Prevents Heavy Metal Poisoning - Aquarium fish and invertebrates are highly sensitive to heavy metals that quickly accumulate with tap water usage. RO removes these toxins.
- Provides a Clean Slate - By starting with mineral-free RO water, precise amounts of salts and supplements can be added to achieve the exact aquarium water parameters desired.
- Discourages Algae - Tap water often contains excessive nutrients that fuel undesirable algae growth. RO water helps keep tanks algae-free.
While small amounts of mineralization are necessary, most experts recommend a 70-90% RO water and 10-30% tap water mix as ideal for home freshwater and saltwater aquariums. This dilution provides essential elements while maximizing water purity.
Conclusion
As these specialized examples demonstrate, RO systems can produce highly customized ultrapure water for demanding residential, commercial, and industrial applications. While standard under-sink RO units effectively filter drinking water, large-scale and multi-stage configurations allow RO technology to purify water for everything from laboratory experiments to power plant boilers to livestock housing.
Whether you need small amounts of mineral-free water for a home aquarium or thousands of gallons for a manufacturing facility, reverse osmosis provides an efficient and economical purification solution. With proper system design and supplementary polishing treatments, RO can deliver water with the exact purity specifications required by facilities across numerous industries.
Netsol Water is Greater Noida-based leading water & wastewater treatment plant manufacturer. We are industry's most demanding company based on client review and work quality. We are known as best commercial RO plant manufacturers, industrial RO plant manufacturer, sewage treatment plant manufacturer, Water Softener Plant Manufacturers and effluent treatment plant manufacturers. Apart from this 24x7 customer support is our USP. Call on +91-9650608473, or write us at enquiry@netsolwater.com for any support, inquiry or product-purchase related query.
