Distilled Vs. Deionized Water
Distilled and deionized water are both highly purified forms of water. But they both have unique methods of purification. Depending on your water source, you can expect distilled water better purified than deionized water, but it doesn’t mean that it’s also better. Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages, especially in terms of efficiency and costs. Before we move into the discussion of which water is better, you need to know the difference between deionized and distilled water.
What is Meant by Distilled Water?
Distilled water goes through a distillation process which involves boiling water to form steam and condensation to remove impurities and contaminants. This may seem like an easy and quick process but actually it is not. Distillation does purify the water by removing impurities and solid minerals, but it’s not recommended for consumption in the long run. The process strips off all the naturally occurring elements, including healthy minerals from the water source. This makes the water not suitable for long-term consumption.
What is Deionized Water?
Deionized water is also purified water, but the difference is that the deionization process removes all the ions from water. It means you can use it in combination with other water treatment systems, such as reverse osmosis, to ensure the proper elimination of all contaminants. In the deionization process, you pass water through a resin bed charged electrically.
It usually has both negatively and positively charged ions. When water is passed through it, the exchange of anions and cations takes place. It changes the characteristics of water, making it more reactive. It removes all mineral ions, including healthy ones such as calcium, chloride and iron. However, this process fails to remove uncharged organic particles like viruses and bacteria or other molecular components like sugar.
Uses of Distilled and Deionized Water
Both distilled and deionized water has various uses in different industries and households. You can use distilled water in car engines as a cooling agent for laboratory experiments, cleaning medical equipment and tools, brewing beer, in canned vegetables and fruits, making soap, ironing clothes, watering plants and others. Deionized water is generally used for scientific applications, cooling equipment, performing lab tests, fire extinguishers and aquariums, dilution, cleaning, automobiles, and many other applications.
Which is Better for Drinking: Distilled or Deionized Water?
While you can drink distilled water, it is not a good choice because it has a deficiency of essential minerals that are present in natural tap or spring water. That’s why it doesn’t offer any health benefits and taste. Alternatively, deionized water is not suitable for drinking. It does not supply minerals to your body, and due to its corrosive nature, it can damage your soft tissues and tooth enamel. Plus, deionized water is not free from pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, so it may not boost your immunity and give you protection against diseases.
The Difference of Costs Between Distillation and Deionization
When you do not need extremely purified (double or triple distillation) water, you may compare the costs of deionization and distillation while choosing between the two water purification systems.
The process of distillation is time-consuming, especially when you need to distill large quantities of water. Additionally, this process needs fuel for water heating with a sterilized container for storage. This makes the process lengthy and sometimes costly. However, when you expose the distilled water to air, it transforms into deionized water.
On the other hand, deionization is a relatively quick process, especially when you are using a mixed resin bed. It means you need to pass water only one time through it. Moreover, it’s a chemical process which means you only need energy for process monitoring and moving water through a deionization system. However, if you are performing the deionization on-site, it can be both time-consuming and expensive.
Bottom Line
Since both are methods of water purification, the choice depends primarily on your use. Distilled water is considered more purified than deionized water because it doesn’t have pathogens that can harm your health. However, deionization is still a good option for various applications such as pharmaceuticals, laboratories, cooling, and many others.
Research Links
https://www.uswatersystems.com/deionized-water-vs-distilled-water
https://culliganla.com/blog/2020/12/02/deionized-water-versus-distilled-drinking-water/#
https://bescocommercial.com/blog/deionized-vs-distilled/
https://www.thoughtco.com/distilled-versus-deionized-water-609435
