Can DI Water Be Re-Ionized Safely to Prevent Rust in Stainless Steel?

[Integral]

The tool I am working on needs a source of clean (cleaner then city water) water, ideally we would use distilled water, but what we have easy access to is a high grade DI water. Unfortunately our tool has stainless steel valves and tubing. It seems (as would be expected) the DI water is quickly rusting some of the steel parts. Is there a easy way to re ionize DI water without contaminating the upstream source? (The DI engineer would not be happy if we did that!)

 

[Bystander]

You can try passivating the stainless with hydrogen peroxide; be certain the apparatus is well vented if you use 10% or stronger, the decomposition is catalyzed by stainless and rapid enough to build up significant pressure.

Is the process sensitive to oxidation? Aerate the water before running it into the stainless. SS is stainless as a function of the oxide film on the surface. The passivation with peroxide, nitric acid, other solutions thickens that a bit, but if you can tolerate atmospheric oxygen, that's about all you need to maintain the "stainless" film. You might also examine the system for mixing of alloys.

 

[Integral]

Thanks a lot, That is the kind of info I am looking for.