Industrial Water Treatment - Reynolds Culligan

Industrial water treatment refers to a range of processes that disinfect, soften, or otherwise improve water quality. Used across a range of diverse settings, water treatment helps protect communities, industrial equipment, and the environment from impure water. Reynolds Culligan offers a single-source, comprehensive water treatment technology platform for virtually any commercial or industrial water purification application.

What Industries Use Water Treatment?

Water treatment encompasses multiple distinct processes, and numerous industries rely on it to maintain safe and smooth operations. Water is often used to cool or lubricate equipment or to process and carry materials. Releasing this contaminated water directly from a facility also releases collected pollutants, threatening the health of surrounding ecosystems and communities.

To responsibly discharge these fluids, industrial facilities turn first to industrial wastewater treatment, which purifies effluent so it can be safely reused or discharged. Industries that use water treatment in this way include manufacturing, construction, food processing, and energy and power, among others.

Aside from managing wastewater, water treatment is also used at the beginning of industrial processes to remove corrosive salts and contaminants. These substances can cause corrosion, scaling, and equipment failure in any industry that relies on water for cooling or lubrication, making water treatment an essential service for various manufacturers.

What is the Water Treatment Industry?

The water treatment industry helps industrial clients safely handle hundreds of billions of gallons of water each day. To do so, water treatment providers offer a set of filtration and purification processes customized to the needs of each client. These processes, which include such techniques as membrane filtration, degasification, and UV disinfection, are performed either in sequence or in parallel to achieve appropriate purity standards.

Water treatment professionals oversee the proper balance of services for each client’s unique needs, which often involves some combination of softening and filtration for incoming water sources, followed by decontamination of effluent. Insufficient treatment at either stage can cause serious problems. For instance, if salts are allowed to remain in cooling or lubricating water, the result is scaling and corrosion, which can shut down entire boiler systems when left unchecked. On the other end, failure to properly sanitize wastewater can result in environmental damage and large fines. The water treatment industry exists to fine-tune the water supply so that resources can be used responsibly.

Industrial Water Treatment Solutions & Technologies

Depending on the exact concerns to be addressed, water treatment professionals draw from a large set of treatment options, each of which targets particular purity concerns. Some of these key processes include:

Filtration is the process of removing solid contaminants from water before it is used or discharged. Depending on the contaminants present, water treatment professionals may choose from a range of filter types and methods.
Deionization is a purification process designed to remove charged contaminants, including calcium, sodium, and chloride-based mineral salts. Deionized water is less likely to cause corrosion or scaling, so it is safer for industrial equipment.
Water softening. Water softening is used to treat hard water, which has accumulated minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Softening hard water before use prevents these minerals from building up in pipes or damaging sensitive equipment.
Some commercial and industrial facilities require that water be kept at a certain pH. Dealkalization is a treatment process that targets and removes alkaline ions to reduce the pH of overly basic water.
Reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis captures impurities before they harm equipment or the environment. This process directs water across a semi-permeable membrane, which catches dissolved contaminants as the water passes through.
Ultrapure water. Ultrapure water contains only hydrogen and hydroxide molecules in a precise 1:1 ratio of H+ : OH-. Water treatment professionals must combine the most stringent purification processes to ensure that no dissolved molecules or ions remain in ultrapure water, which goes on to be used in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.
Ultraviolet treatment. Ultraviolet (UV) rays are extremely effective at killing viral and bacterial pathogens that can compromise water quality. UV water treatment uses this property to remove biological contaminants from the water supply.
Portable and skid-mounted treatment. Although many facilities use stationary water treatment equipment, there are situations in which portable purification systems are beneficial, such as field use or to serve low-volume treatment needs. Water treatment suppliers can provide equipment mounted on metal skids to facilitate transport and installation, especially for clients needing mobile treatment stations.
Bottle-Free® Water Coolers. Bottle-Free® coolers are a water treatment option for offices and commercial facilities, providing employees with unlimited access to safe drinking water without the need for traditional cooler bottles.

Your water treatment supplier can help you determine which process or processes are best for your individual needs.

Technologies That Use Industrial Water Treatment

Water treatment directly enables critical technologies used in healthcare, biomedical laboratories, and industrial settings.

Medical sterilization. The water used to sterilize surgical equipment must itself be free of contaminants. Cleaning instruments or medical devices with impure water increases the risk of dangerous patient infections.
Laboratory reagents. Across biomedicine and pharmaceutical laboratories, water is the single most common reagent used in countless vital experiments. Deionized, UV-sanitized water is necessary in these settings, as even traces of a contaminant can interfere with experimental data.
Medical treatments.Anytime water is introduced directly into the body, such as in dialysis, that water must be free of biological or chemical contaminants that could harm the patient.
Drinking water. UV sanitation and reverse osmosis filtration improve the quality and taste of water used in food and beverage applications or in homes and businesses.
Boilers and industrial equipment. Water is a key component of boilers and hydraulic systems, which are prone to scaling or corrosion from contaminated water. Deionization and water softening remove the salts and minerals that cause premature equipment breakdown.

Choose Reynolds Culligan for Water Treatment Solutions

Reynolds Culligan recognizes that our clients each have unique water treatment needs, so we’ve developed our technology platform to be compatible with virtually any industry or application. Since 1948, hospitals, factories, research labs, and municipal wastewater facilities have trusted Reynolds Culligan to provide the highest-quality purification, filtration, and water softening solutions, and our offerings have grown to include UV disinfection, reverse osmosis, deionization, and other advanced treatment options.

To learn more about our all-in-one industrial water treatment solutions, contact Reynolds Culligan today.