The drinking water that we get today is flushed with hazardous chemicals from the different water treatment plants. As a result, the natural minerals present in water are taken away. In such a situation, it is essential to use the proper filtration processes to remove the contaminants and make water safe for consumption. The main contaminants present in water is total dissolved solids (TDS) that are left in the water after the normal filtration process. Contaminants that are larger than 2 microns are termed as total dissolved solids.
A fine filter generally removes particles that are 0.45 microns in size and originates from different sources. The remaining contaminants in water after the filtration process consist of charged atoms and ions. Moderate to high TDS in water not only changes the taste of water but also poses a lot of health hazards. One of the most effective ways to maintain the TDS level is by using the leading RO water purifier in India. In this blog, we discuss in detail the ways to remove excessive TDS present in water.
WHAT IS TDS IN WATER?
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in water are some organic and inorganic materials, which include minerals and ions that are dissolved in a particular quantity in water. When water passes through stones, pipes or different surfaces, the particles are absorbed into the water. TDS in water can come from different sources such as minerals in chemicals used for treating water, runoff from the road salts and chemicals or fertilizers from the farms.
DRINKING WATER TDS CHART
One of the important questions that many people have in their minds what is the acceptable TDS level in the water? To help you out, we are listing two tables which discuss the palatability quotient and acceptable TDS level.
TDS Level in parts per million(ppm) |
Palatability Quotient |
Between 50-150 |
Excellent for drinking |
150-250 |
Good |
250-300 |
Fair |
300-500 |
Poor |
Above 1200 |
Unacceptable |
WAYS TO REDUCE OR REMOVE TDS IN WATER
1. Reverse Osmosis (R.O)
Reverse Osmosis removes TDS by forcing the water, under pressure, through a synthetic membrane. The membrane contains microscopic pores which will allow only molecules smaller than 0.0001 microns to pass through. As the molecules of dissolved metals and salts are large compared to the water molecules, water squeezes through the membrane leaving the metals and salts behind.
2. Distillation
The process involves boiling water to produce water vapour. The water vapour rises to a cool surface where it is condensed back into the liquid form. The dissolved salts are unable to vaporize and remain in the boiling solution.
3. Deionisation (DI)
In this process, water is passed through a positive and negative electrode. The ion-selective membranes enable the positive ions to separate from the water and move towards the negative electrode. The end result is de-ionized water with high purity. However, the water is first passed through a reverse osmosis unit first in order to remove the non-ionic organic contaminants.
WHICH WATER PURIFIER IS BEST?
One of the important factors that you need to consider when looking for a water purifier is the TDS level. Depending on the TDS level, you need to decide whether you need an RO, UF or UV water purifier. To make your work easy, here’s a table that will help you understand which water purifier is ideal for a particular TDS level.
TDS Level |
Type of Purifier |
0-200 |
UV Water Purifier |
200-300 |
RO+UV water purifier |
300-500 |
RO+UV+UF |