Water specification for electronic industry

Ultrapure water

Ultrapure water is widely used in the electronics industry for applications such as semi-
conductor manufacture, circuit board washing and clean room use. The water specifications
applied throughout the electronics industry are demanding with residual mineral limits being
set in the parts per trillion (ppt) level and the concentration of TOC (Total Organic Carbon)
content, in the parts per billion (ppb) level. It is critical that the ultra-pure water used meets
these challenging specifications.

Water purification for electronics manufacturing might involve filtration; chemical dosing;
media, membrane and carbon filtration; ion exchange; and a host of other solutions to address
specific issues. Changing legislation also has an impact. For example, the restrictions on the
use of lead solder will increasingly lead to the use of alternative products such as silver based
solder. This in turn creates a need for circuit boards to be rinsed in purified water before the
solder is applied.

Purification methods

1. Chemical dosing

Chemical dosing is the delivery of a chemical substance into raw or sewage water, usually
done as part of preliminary processing. Chemical dosing (dispensing a chemical substance)
is usually done by means of an electronic motorised pump which automatically controls the
dosing process at a regular interval of time. Chemicals like acid, alkali, lime and other
substances are dosed into raw water in order to maintain pH and to remove dissolved
minerals.

2. Carbon and Membrane filtration

If the raw water does not contain any dissolved salts, carbon filtration can be used to further
purify the water. On the other hand, if the water contains dissolved salts, then membrane
filtration needs to be used.

In the case of carbon filtration, water is passed through „activated carbon‟ powder having
large number of small pores on the surface (which results in very high surface area in the
range of 1000 – 2000 m2/g of carbon). This process is highly effective at reducing cysts,
asbestos, and biological impurities such as mold, algae, and common waterborne bacteria
including E. Coli that present in the water. These contaminants get adsorbed on the surface
of activated carbon, leaving pure water. Most tap water requires Activated Carbon Filtration
in order to improve taste and reduce odour and contaminants.
Membrane (Reverse Osmosis) filtration is appropriate if the water contains a high level of
minerals. Water with high mineral content is often referred to as “hard water” or as having
high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). Reverse Osmosis Filtration provides all the benefits of
Activated Carbon Filtration, but is also effective at reducing dissolved minerals, or TDS.
Reverse Osmosis technology uses a semi-permeable membrane which allows the passage of
only water molecules through its holes, and trap dissolved minerals, salts, metals, chemicals,
microorganisms, and other impurities from raw water. This is achieved by applying a
pressure slightly in excess of osmotic pressure. The contaminants stay on the pressurised
side while the pure water passes to the other side of the membrane. As the semi-permeable
membrane having various pore sizes are available, it is necessary to choose the right
membrane which allows the passage of only water molecules to obtain ultrapure water.

Chemical analysis of waste water

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

BOD and COD measurements are generally made for the “treated” waste water (effluent).
These values give indications on the amount of contaminants that remain in the water even
after treatment. Higher the BOD and COD values means more concentrated the waste
present in the water.

BOD actually measures the “amount of oxygen” consumed by the bacteria present in the
water to oxidise the organic waste (which is food for the bacteria) into carbon dioxide and
water. The amount of oxygen consumed is generally measured in terms of milligrams of
oxygen per litre of waste water (or ppm). If the organic waste is more in the treated water,
the bacteria will consume most or all of the “dissolved oxygen” (DO) from the water to digest
the organic waste, thereby depletes the dissolved oxygen, which is harmful for the aquatic life
such as fish. Therefore, effluents with prescribed BOD levels are only allowed to be
discharged into the natural water.

BOD is determined by incubating a sealed sample of (waste) water for five days and
measuring the loss of oxygen from the beginning to the end of the test.

COD does not differentiate between biologically available and inert organic matter, and it is a
measure of the “total quantity of oxygen required” to oxidize all organic material into carbon
dioxide and water. COD measurements are made by use of strong oxidising chemical agent
such as KMnO4 . As such COD values are always greater than BOD values, but COD
measurements can be made in a few hours while BOD measurements take five days.