Distilled water can also be called purified water. Distillation is a kind of chemical treatment given to water in order to purify it by removing the impurities. The process of distillation involves boiling the water and then condensing the steam into a clean container. Before looking into the various uses of distilled water, let us first understand the distillation process.
The process of distillation involves the five simple steps:
- The water to be purified is heated.
- It is boiled to the boiling points and thus vaporizes
- The vapor then becomes steam, and is directed into a cooler; while the other substances remain in the solid state in the distillation apparatus.
- The steam then cools down and returns to the liquid state.
- The end result obtained is water that is free of all impurities and additional substances.
Distilled water is used in many laboratories for the purpose of carrying out experiments. It is also used to top off lead acid batteries – a type of rechargeable battery that used in cars and trucks. Tap water cannot be used in place of distilled water as it has many ions that would interfere with the processing of the equipments. Another interesting use of distilled water is in household aquariums. It is beneficial for the fishes because the distilled water is free from any chemicals that the tap water has. The process of distillation makes the water free from heavy metals, poisons, bacteria and viruses. However, it fails to remove those substances that have boiling points at temperature lower than that of water. Such substances include oils, petroleum, alcohol and similar substances, which in most cases don't mix with water.
Apart from all these uses, distilled water can also be used for drinking purpose. Bottled distilled water can be found in many supermarkets as well as in pharmacies. As mentioned earlier, distillation being a process of purification, it is important in regions where the water resources or the tap water is unfit for human consumption.
Water filtration devices are also common in many households. Our Municipal Corporation often adds disinfectants in order to remove the impurities; however this does not ensure complete removal of the impurities from the water. But by the process of distillation some of these impurities are removed.
Water purified by the process of distillation need not be boiled again and can be used directly for drinking as well as preparation of tea, or similar drinks.
