Is Distillation the Best Method for Purifying Water?

[watersplit]

Hi

I want to to make 100% (or close to it) pure water and I guess distillation is the way. I know there are VOCs that can vaporize at different temperatures. And then we have the chloramines in our tap water. When water gets vaporized does the chloramines vaporize too? Can anyone provide some source of information on how to perform perfect distillation of water?

Thank you!

 

[phinds]

What research have you done on this so far? What have you found out?

 

[watersplit]

What research have you done on this so far? What have you found out?

My only research is through google. Some people say if you boil water that contains chloramines, the vapour will be pure water and the chloramines will be left in the boiling jar. But some other sources claims the opposite. I don't know who I should believe but I hope to find some better answers on this forum.

 

[BillTre]

In the past, I was mixing up a chlorine (not chloramine) water test for using with fish water systems.
When I used distilled to make it up, it turned very yellow (indicates the presence of chlorine.
Both the chlorine in the water and the chloramine volatilized in the distillation apparatus and then (since it was a closed chamber) re-condensed and was captured as distillate.
I would guess choramines would do about the same.

Fish hobbyists have their methods for making water chloramine free (it kills fish). Its a bit more complicated than just getting rid of chlorine. Hobbyist methods for removing chlorine or chloramines may leave other chemicals in the water (left overs from reacting with the chlorine/chloramines), but they are chemicals that don't bother aquatic organisms.

In labs, really pure water is made with water purification machines that use charcoal, ion exchange resins, reverse osmosis membranes, and perhaps other methods I am not now remembering, to make much "cleaner" water with a lower conductivity (fewer ions).

I would first try:

1. a charcoal filter, or
2. a charcoal filter combined with a home RO machine. (lab machines are expensive).

Here is a link to a manufacturer's overview of their lab water purification products.

You should consider what you really want (WRT level of purity) and how much (volume/how fast).

I recently visited the place I used to work at. They now have a very large RO system that can put out a continuous garden hose-like stream of RO treated water. It probably cost > $30,000. Also has maintenance costs.

Depending upon your needs, you might just want to purchase some really clean water.

 

[jim mcnamara]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purified_water#Parameters_of_water_purity
This discusses purification in some detail.

This tells us that chloramines are removed by distillation:
https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/html/g1493/build/g1493.htm

 

[Borek]

First things first: do you understand how distillation works and how boiling points of the substances involved fit into the separation process? No separation is perfect, it is always a matter of amount of traces we are ready to accept in the "purified" substance. To some extent both statements "water and chloramines can be separated by distillation" and "water and chloramines can't be separated by distillation" are true depending on the context and the level of separation you want to achieve.

 

[watersplit]

Thank you for all answers. As I am new to this, would you like to recommend me a book that describes how to perform distillation?

 

[snorkack]

Hi

I want to to make 100% (or close to it) pure water

How pure? Pure of what? 99,6% pure water tastes strongly salty. Drinking water is almost always more than 99,9% pure.

 

[russ_watters]

...have you looked into reverse osmosis? Or carbon filtration? You just want to purify your water for drinking, right?

 

[watersplit]

How pure? Pure of what? 99,6% pure water tastes strongly salty. Drinking water is almost always more than 99,9% pure.

Pure of anything unhealthy. So >99,9% is what I want.

...have you looked into reverse osmosis? Or carbon filtration? You just want to purify your water for drinking, right?

I have read a little about it, will look more into it. Yes, it's only for drinking. And my reason: there are claims that our drinking water contains chloramines, traces of chemicals, medicines etc, which are bad for health when drinking these things for a long time (several years?).

And after a distillation the water will have no minerals, which is bad according to some sources. So I was thinking about adding rocks in a container with water and let it mineralize. Perhaps not a safe thing to do as I don't know what minerals are released from various rocks. Maybe radioactive substances!

 

[Borek]

Sorry to be blunt, but it sounds like you worry about things you have no idea about, at the same time you believe you will be able to make drinking water better than the one prepared and tested by state regulated water treatment plants, using methods that require years of education and training. Nope, it is not going to happen.

 

[russ_watters]

The easiest and cheapest way out of this problem is with a carbon filter pitcher. But as said, there's really nothing needed nor is building your own distillation rig from scratch a trivial undertaking.

 

[berkeman]

https://lifestraw.com/products/lifestraw