Applications

Standards & Applications

Impurities in water
Why is it necessary to purify tap water?

Water has the ability to dissolve almost every chemical compound, as well as support nearly every lifeform.

Usually all laboratory water is initially sourced from a potable water supply. However, this water can contain many substances either in solution or in suspension which can impact and distort scientific data. These contaminants may have a negatively impact on your scientific applications. Natural and drinking water contain a huge number of impurities.

When it comes to your water purification system, it is important to know both your application and your feedwater. These information help to configirate the system and leads to a more effective and economic running. Make sure that you know before you start looking to buy your next water purification system. 

Water Quality Standards

In the follwing section we show a selection of the main laboratory standards.
Our experts looking forward to assist if you need further and detailed information.

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
The ASTM D1193-06 (2011) deals with the requirements for chemical analyses and physical tests.

Type Conductivity at 25°C (max.) Resistance at 25°C (min.) pH at 25°C TOC (max.) Sodium (max.) Chloride (max.) Silicon (max.)
1 0.056 µS/cm 18.0 MΩ•cm - 50 µg/l 1 µg/l 1 µg/l 3 µg/l
2 1.000 µS/cm 1.0 MΩ•cm - 50 µg/l 5 µg/l 5 µg/l 3 µg/l
3 0.250 µS/cm 4.0 MΩ•cm - 200 µg/l 10 µg/l 10 µg/l 500 µg/l
4 5.000 µS/cm 0.2 MΩ•cm 5.0 - 8.0 - 50 µg/l 50 µg/l -
* Depending on the application the limit values may differ

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
ISO 3696:1987 distinguishes between three degrees of purity for water for analytical purposes in laboratories.

Grade pH at 25°C Conductivity at 25°C (max.) Oxidizable matter, oxygen content (max.) Absorption at 254 nm and a length of 1 cm (max.) Residue after evaporation by heating to 110°C (max.) SIlicon content (max.)
1 - 0.1 µS/cm - 0.001 absorption units - 0.01 mg/l
2 - 1.0 µS/cm 0.08 mg/l 0.01 absorption units 1 mg/kg 0.02 mg/l
3 5.0 - 7.0 5.0 µS/cm 0.40 mg/l - 2 mg/kg -

Laboratory Applications

We provide water purification solutions for a variety of laboratory applications.
The following list helps to find he right water purification system for your application.
As For detailed information please do not hesitate to come back to us.
  • General Lab Water

    Glassware washing

    This is a routine practice where glassware and instruments can be washed either by hand or using specifically designed equipment. 

    Type 3 water is sufficient for most applications, however for more sensitive techniques Type 2 should be used. For the critical applications such as cell culture, ICP-MS or clinical methods, glassware should be washed with Type 1 water. 


    Heating Baths

    Often, it is thought that tap water will be sufficient for heating baths as the purpose is to keep constant and regulated temperatures. While this is true scaling poses a large problem and will affect the maintenance and product life. If the water is too pure on the other hand, rusting can occur. 

    Type 3 water is, therefore, sufficient for heating baths.


    Autoclave Filling

    Autoclaves are used in medical applications for the sterilization of equipment. This is done by subjecting the items to high-pressure steam to get the temperatures of the water greater than 100 °C. 


    Steam Generators

    Steam generators are used in a range of applications, including clean room humidification, autoclaves and sterilisers. Most steam generators would benefit from pre-treatment of the water to avoid build-up. 

    Type 3 water can be used for steam generators, however, if the steam is being used in disinfection services in healthcare environments, it is advised to check the strict specifications which are applied by some authorities.



    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS 6 | 12

    Ion Exchanger

    Central System

  • Atomic Spectroscopy

    Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS)

    FAAS is used for determining metals and metalloids in solution at ppb or ppm levels. 

    To ensure precision and accuracy of measurements, Type 2 water with a resistivity greater than 5 MΩ.cm is suitable.


    Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (GF-AAS)

    GF-AAS uses a small carbon tube rather than a flame to atomize the sample. It is a very sensitive method which is suitable for the measurement of ultra-trace levels of elements, typically below 1 ppb. 

    This means that Type 1 water would be required for GF-AAS.


    ICP-AES or ICP-OES

    Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic (or Optical) Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES or ICP-OES) is an analytical technique used for the detection of trace metals and multi-element analysis. 

    Type I water is recommended for this technique.



    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS

    HALIOS 6 | 12

  • Cell Cultures

    Cell culture is a commonly used laboratory technique, where cells are grown under controlled conditions typically outside of their natural environment. Ultrapure water (Type 1) should be used for the preparation of media and buffers to ensure that cells are free from bacterial, yeast and viral contaminants. Contamination of cell culture by metal ions, endotoxins, bacteria or fungi can impact the culture directly or indirectly (e.g. changes in pH).


    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS

    HALIOS 6 | 12

  • Clinical Biochemistry

    Water purification systems are used to feed many different functions within clinical analyzers. The most important aspect of water for automated pathology analysers is reliability, and therefore must be compliant with a the appropriate water quality standards such as CLRW.



    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS 6 | 12

    Central Systems

  • Gas Chromatography

    Gas chromatography is one of the most sensitive and commonly used analytical techniques for the separation and determination of various compounds. The use of water within the process of gas chromatography is rather limited, however Type 1 water will be required for sample preparation. In addition, water will be used for blank preparation and sample standards if the sample being analyzed is of an aqueous nature.


    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS

    HALIOS 6 | 12

  • Liquid Chromatography

    Ion Chromatography

    Ion chromatography allows the separation of ions and polar molecules based on their interaction with a column of ion-exchange media. 


    High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

    High-pressure liquid chromatography, now known as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), is a chromatographic technique used to identify, quantify, separate and purify individual compounds present in a mixture.


    Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC)

    Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) is a variant of HPLC which uses smaller particles to enhance chromatographic performance and requires higher pressures. In a similar way to HPLC, the water contaminants can negatively impact on results, however, due to the higher sensitivities of the UHPLC, this can be more extreme.


    As LC is capable of extremely low detection limits, the recommended water requirement is Type 1 water.


    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS

    HALIOS 6 | 12

  • General Chemistry

    Quantitative analysis 

    Quantitative analysis is used to determine what ion is present in a solution. 


    SPE - Solid Phase Extraction

    SPE consists in a sample preparation process used to separate compounds dissolved or suspended in a liquid mixture.


    Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analysis

    TOC is the amount of carbon found in an organic compound and it's used as an indicator of water quality


    The recommended water requirement is usually Type 1 water.


    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS

    HALIOS 6 | 12

  • Mass Spectrometry

    Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

    Advances in modern analytical instrumentation have continue to improve the sensitivity of trace metal analysis, to the point that elements are now measured at ppt and sub-ppt levels.

    As a result of the very high sensitivity requirements, Type 1/1+ are recommended.


    Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)

    Combining gas chromatography with mass spectrometry, Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) is used to identify different substances and has a very wide range of applications. 

    The requirement for water purity is extremely stringent as very low TOC levels are required. Based on this, Type I water is suitable for this technique.


     


    Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS)

    Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) combines the physical separation of liquid chromatography with the analysis capabilities of mass spectrometry. 

    Type I water is generally recommended for this application.



    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS

    HALIOS 6 | 12

  • Microbiological Analysis

    Microbiological analysis is the use of biological, biochemical, molecular or chemical methods for the detection and dentification or enumeration of microorganisms.


    Make sure that you are using the right water type for your application. For most applications Type 1 water is required.


    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS

    HALIOS 6 | 12

  • Genetic

    PCR

    Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a molecular biology technique which is used to amplify a piece of DNA, and generates thousands to millions of copies of a specific DNA sequence.


    DNA / RNA sequencing

    It's the process that includes any method or technology used to determine the precise order of nucleotides in a strand of DNA.


    DNA microarrays

    It is a collection of microscopic DNA spot on a solid surface.


    Nucleic Acid Electrophoresis

    It is an analytical technique used to separate DNA or RNA fragments.


    The recommended water requirement is Type 1+ water.


    Suitable Products:

    HALIOS

    HALIOS 6 | 12

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