4 Advice to Choose a pharmaceutical water system

Apr. 21, 2025

How do you choose the ideal water purification system for your ...

Selecting the right water purification system is crucial for maintaining the integrity of scientific research in laboratories. This guide outlines a step-by-step approach to help you choose a system that meets the specific needs of your laboratory applications.

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Step 1: Determine your required water purity level

Understanding the purity requirements of your laboratory applications is fundamental. Identify whether you need primary grade water for routine tasks or ultrapure water for sensitive analytical techniques.

Challenge: Highly sensitive research applications demand ultrapure water
Solution: Opt for a system capable of producing ASTM Type I water with precise specifications such as resistivity of 18.2 MΩ cm, low conductivity, and minimal levels of TOC, sodium, silica, and chloride. Ensure the system integrates RO (reverse osmosis), DI (deionisation), UV (ultra-violet), and UMF (ultra-microfilter) technologies to achieve and maintain high water quality.

Challenge: Poor quality feed water requires pretreatment for efficient purification.
Solution: Choose a supplier offering comprehensive pre- and post-treatment options including prefilters to remove particulates from municipal water, safeguarding the longevity and performance of your purification system.

Step 2: Assess your laboratory’s water demands

Evaluate whether your system needs to supply water for single or multiple uses, the volume required per hour, and the speed at which water must be delivered to instruments.

Challenge: Meeting lab volume requirements without microbial contamination.
Solution: Install a system with a storage reservoir equipped with a composite vent filter (CVF) to protect stored water from airborne contaminants. Ensure the system supports multiple dispensing points and offers point-of-use filters to enhance water quality at dispense points, as well as water recirculation and UV lamp.

Step 3: Consider your laboratory’s budget

Evaluate the total cost of ownership over five years, including consumables replacement costs and operational expenses.

Challenge: Operating within a tight budget while aiming for low ownership costs.
Solution: Select a supplier that provides transparent cost assessments and offers solutions like using several dispensers (instead of buying several purifiers), and pre-treating the feed water to maximise consumables lifespan. This ensures long-term savings without compromising water quality.

Step 4: Evaluate available space

Assess where the purification system will be located in your lab and the overall footprint of the system and its components.

Challenge: Limited lab space necessitates a compact system design.

Solution: Choose a compact system with a flexible design that can be wall-mounted or installed under benches, maximising available space without compromising operational efficiency. What's more, to facilitate integration into the laboratory, it is possible to separate the unit from the distribution point (with a PURELAB Dispenser from the ELGA range, for example).

Step 5: Ensure reliable uptime

Consider the system's reliability, warranty, and maintenance support to minimise downtime in your lab’s operations.

Challenge: Operating a lab 24/7 requires a reliable water purification system.
Solution: opt for systems with preventive maintenance features such as EDI to reduce downtime. Choose suppliers offering remote monitoring services for proactive maintenance and support.

Step 6: Sustainability and future-proofing

Evaluate whether the system can be expanded to meet future demand increases and if it aligns with your lab’s sustainability goals.

Challenge: Future-proofing your lab with scalable and sustainable water purification solutions.
Solution: Select modular systems that allow for easy expansion without increasing the system’s footprint. Look for energy-efficient designs that minimise water and energy consumption, reduce plastic and chemical waste, and ensure compliance with environmental standards.

Choosing the right water purification system involves careful consideration of purity requirements, operational efficiency, budget constraints, and sustainability goals. Veolia’s range of advanced systems offers tailored solutions to meet the stringent demands of scientific research, ensuring accurate and reliable results across various laboratory applications.

Explore ELGA’s comprehensive range of water purification systems designed to enhance your laboratory’s research capabilities. Contact us to find the ideal solution that guarantees the purity and reliability essential for your scientific endeavours.

How to Get the Ideal Purified Water System for the Pharmaceutical ...

When choosing a purified water system for the pharmaceutical industry, there are a variety of different approaches to be considered. The ideal approach combines validation requirements, cost efficiencies, and service requirements for the pharmaceutical industry.

When a pharmaceutical manufacturer is choosing a purified water system, their number one concern is Total Organic Carbon (TOC). As we noted in this post, Total Organic Carbon is listed by United States Pharmacopeia (USP) as a key item to test for in a purified water system.

USP sets the standard for purified water systems. Before we delve into the types of purified water systems that can help meet their standards, let’s take a look at the most important types of water uses in pharmaceutical applications.

Types of Water Used in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a webpage detailing the types of water used in the manufacture of drug products. The ones that are most widely used are:

- USP purified water

- USP water for injection (WFI)

- USP sterile water for injection

- LUSP sterile water for inhalation

- USP bacteriostatic water for injection

USP sterile water for irrigation

The USP designation in each of these types of water stands for the United States Pharmacopeia. It indicates the water is a “finished” product that is packed and labeled as such and need not be of concern during an inspection outside of plants which actually produce these products.

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Six Causes of Purified Water Contamination

In the production of purified water for pharmaceutical products, one of the biggest concerns is microbial contamination. Any organics or bacteria can affect the quality of the water, and ultimately the product. These types of contaminants and increased TOC levels can materialize in a number of ways, including:

1. Poor water system design

A system may be under-engineered, in which it fails to include essential components such as a Reverse Osmosis (RO) filter, a storage vessel, a deionization system, UV technology and final filtration.

2. Piping system defects

Stainless steel is required in piping systems to withstand the intense heat during distillation. If passivation is not performed to prevent rouging (a form of corrosion on stainless steel), it’s possible contaminants could enter the water. (See our post on polypropylene for more information.)

3. Poor storage vessel design and materials

People fail to ensure the storage vessels are properly sized and ventilated. The vessel should also be made from low TOC material.

4. Choosing the wrong testing procedure

Because TOC count is extremely sensitive, sending water samples to outside labs increases the potential for human error. An inline meter will take the “human element” out of the equation.

5. Selecting the wrong type of deionization resin

As we’re about to show you, the deionization resin plays an important role in the purification process (particularly if you’ve chosen the ideal water system).

6. Seasonal variations in temperature and growth of flora

Microbial content can be seasonal, which is why continuous monitoring is required.

For more details, check out our post on Reasons You’re Missing Your Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Water Quality Standard.

Three Types of Pharmaceutical Water System Designs

Now that we’ve described some of the potential threats to your purified water, let’s take a closer look at the water system designs that can help solve the problem.

1. Distillation

Distillation is a method widely used in Europe, but is a system that’s become antiquated. Through the use of stills, the system boils large quantities of water to produce distilled water.

While the water consumption is actually less than an RO system, the Distillation method requires an enormous amount of energy, and it’s typically cost prohibitive.

2. Electrodeionization

With electrodeionization, an electrical charge is sent to a resin pack, which then charges the ions which can then attract impurities through a chemical process.

When electrodeionization was introduced approximately 15-20 years ago, it was supposed to be revolutionary and become the water system of choice. However, it’s proven to be too costly to implement and service, as it’s difficult to find technicians skilled in the system.

3. Reverse osmosis and high purity resin

In this system, reverse osmosis is used because it is an effective organic filter. It does the lion’s share of removing living organisms in the water. However, the RO system can only achieve water purity of approximately 10 microsiemens or greater.

That?s why high purity resin is added to the system, allowing the system to reach 18 megohms of resistivity — which is water in it’s purest state. Click here to learn more about deionized water.

Ideal Qualities for a Water System for Pharmaceutical Use

We’ve described the primary water systems used by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Now what are the qualities that should be present in the ideal pharmaceutical water system?

Expandability for growing operations

A big mistake made by both manufacturers and water system providers is sizing a system strictly for today’s usage. You should always choose a system with the flexibility for future growth.

These systems are complex, and the last thing you want with a rapidly-expanding business is to have to slow down or stop your operation and install a new, larger system.

Meets validation guidelines and protocol

Most pharmaceutical water systems will need to be validated. Look for a provider that will assist with a written protocol for the regular operation of the system and for any preventive maintenance work.

Guaranteed Service – 24 x 7

Every pharmaceutical operation includes a significant investment. For many companies that produce a product that starts with water, a disruption particularly at the beginning of the process can lead to extensive down time. Choose a service provider with around-the-clock service capabilities.

The Stakes are High — Ensure the System is Right

No one has to tell a pharmaceutical manufacturer the potential risks involved with every product. Everyone understands the rigorous validation standards and extraordinary requirements the pharmaceutical industry demands. Failing to meet these regulations could cost millions.

That’s why you should use our systems descriptions as a guideline. If you’re looking for a new water system, be sure to weigh the intangibles such as industry experience and engineering expertise. It’s all critical to your system — and to your success!

We’ll do more than give you a quote we’ll visit your site to analyze your industrial water needs.

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