Maintenance and Upkeep of Ultrapure Water Systems

Ultrapure water systems primarily use four filtration stages: precision filters, activated carbon filters, and reverse osmosis membranes. Each has a relatively limited lifespan. Precision and activated carbon filters essentially protect the reverse osmosis membrane. If they fail, the load on the reverse osmosis membrane increases, shortening its lifespan. Continuing to operate the system will degrade the quality of the purified water, further burdening the reverse osmosis membrane and shortening its lifespan. Ultimately, this increases the operating cost of the ultrapure water system.

Therefore, the following points should be noted when using an ultrapure water system:

1. Precision filters primarily remove sediment and large particles from the water. New filters are white, but they will turn brown over time as sediment accumulates on the surface. This indicates that the filter is no longer usable and needs to be replaced as soon as possible.

2. Activated carbon filters primarily remove odors, residual chlorine, and other organic matter from the water. Generally, activated carbon should be replaced once a year, as the surface of the activated carbon layer shows no visible changes.

3. Reverse osmosis membranes are a crucial component of ultrapure water systems. The lifespan of a reverse osmosis membrane is generally 2-3 years.

4. Prevent filter media from entering the reverse osmosis unit: Select a suitable filter outlet device to prevent sand and activated carbon leakage; select suitable activated carbon to prevent powdering during use.

5. Large-scale ultrapure water systems using tap water as their source should ideally have an independent water supply system. This ensures stable operation of the water supply system and reduces the instantaneous impact on the entire plant's water supply network during RO system start-up and shutdown. When the RO unit draws water directly from the raw water network, high and low pressure protection devices should be installed, as the pressure fluctuations in most tap water networks are significant.

The above points are extremely important during the use of ultrapure water systems, protecting the equipment and ensuring production success.