Often, when you are doing experiments, the ions in water might be interferences and your tests come out with wrong answers. Getting the right water for your need is one of the important keys to work properly in the lab. However, when looking for the right water purification system, people may get confused about the difference between deionized (DI) water and ultrapure (UP) water.

Here is the short answer. Deionized water and ultrapure water are both types of extremely pure water, but they are produced in two distinctly different ways. DI water is created through the process of deionization. UP water is produced by a combination of purification technologies, such as RO filtration, EDI module, UV sterilization and ultra-purification treatment. As a consequence, these two types of water are different in water quality. In turn, they correspond to different applications.

DI water vs. UP water – What gets removed?

Even though we cannot identify the difference with bare eyes, it is easy to understand that DI water is a far cry from UP water by comparing the contaminants they contain.

Basically, in the process of deionization, ion exchange resin removes almost all anions and cations (dissolved salts) in water. However, dissolved organic matter (DOM) and non-ionizing electrolytes, such as ethanol, are not touched. It is easy to cause the reproduction of bacteria while storage. Unlike DI water, in UP water, not only the electrolytes contaminants but also all the non-electrolytes contaminants and organic materials are removed. In other words, all the non-aqueous materials are removed from the water. Through pretreatment, reverse osmosis, electrodeionization, dual-wavelength UV lamp and ultra-purification, UP water reach extremely low levels of ions, organic molecules, bacteria and particles. It generally has a resistivity of 18.2 MΩ·cm at 25°C, TOC <10 ppb, Colloids <2 μg/ml and bacterial count <10 CFU/ml.

Removal of contaminants:

DI water vs. UP water – Applications

DI water is the water of choice in many microelectronics and pharmaceutical companies. It is also used as one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of healthcare products and cosmetics. DI water also performs well as a cleanser for washing the equipment in the laboratories.

UP water is commonly used in sensitive and critical scientific applications in analytical laboratories such as ICP-MS, HPLC, LC-MS, GC-MS, GFAAS, PCR, etc. Feedwater for these critical applications needs to be extremely pure to minimize the impact and lead to predictable and repeatable experiment results. Besides an ideal solution for laboratory works, UP water also acts an essential role in the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries. With ppb level of contaminants, ultrapure water is the best and only choice for aforesaid applications without a doubt.

Purification technologies:

*For more information about IX (Ion exchange): https://rephile.com/ion-exchange-method/

*EDI (Electrodeionization):  a technology that combines the semi-permeable membrane with ion-exchange media to provide a higher efficiency demineralization process.

Get the right water purification system – Genie G

It can be seen that DI water and UP water are chalk and cheese. Therefore, choose the right water according to your need can not only save your time but also keep you free from a lot of trouble. Genie G produces ultrapure water (Type I water) with the resistivity of 18.2 MΩ·cm at 25°C and TOC < 5 ppb and EDI water (Type II water) with the resistivity of > 5 MΩ·cm at 25°C and TOC < 30 ppb from tap water directly. It offers desired solutions for research professionals who work with varieties of applications utilizing Type I ultrapure and Type II pure water in the lab.

For more information, please visit: https://rephile.com/genie-g-ultrapure-edi-lab-water-systems/

About RephiLe:
Driven by innovation and quality, RephiLe is a dedicated provider of water purification systems and laboratory filtration products. At the same time, RephiLe produces comprehensive consumables that can be used in Millipore lab water systems with reliable performance. It is RephiLe’s commitment to becoming a partner of choice for customers in the area of life science and biotechnology. The company is striving to bring superior quality, high value and innovative purification tools to enable and accelerate the advancement of the life sciences and technologies. Products are being sold to over 90 countries worldwide.

For more information, please visit: https://rephile.com/