The key difference between distilled and purified water is that distilled water is not fit for consumption as it is devoid of all minerals considered good for our health, whereas purified water is fit for consumption.
We are living in times when pollution is at its peak, and waterborne diseases are giving people sleepless nights. This is why people are getting attracted to gadgets and devices that purify water and make it fit for consumption, and poses no harm to human health. There are many ways of purifying water to make it palatable by removing sedimentation and other suspended impurities from it, such as reverse osmosis, distillation, and deionization, and the basic aim is to remove impurities from water. However, there are differences between distilled water and purified water. It’s essential to know them so as to safeguard our health and avoid any harm to ourselves through the water.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Distilled Water
3. What is Purified Water
4. Distilled vs Purified Water in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Distilled vs Purified Water
What is Distilled Water?
Distillation is a process in which water is boiled and then cooled and collected in the form of steam in a separate column. As suspended particles and impurities are heavy, they remain at the bottom and are not carried in the steam; what we ultimately get is pure water free from all impurities. Since water is boiled for some time, all bacteria in the water get killed and what we get in the form of cooled steam is nothing but pure water (H2O). However, the process of distillation also causes water to lose all of its minerals, and though it may be pure, it is not fit for drinking. It is good for scientific experimentation or for putting inside cars and inverter batteries. As it is depleted of the entire essential minerals required by our bodies, distilled water is not good for our health and may, in fact, dehydrate us, just like seawater.
Figure 01: Distilled Water
What is Purified Water?
Purified water is no special type of water but simply water that has gone through various processes of purification. These processes may include filtration, distillation, reverse osmosis, and some more to make sure that water does not contain any impurities. It must have less than 10 PPM. PPM stands for parts-per-million. Purified water, when it is boiled and collected in the form of steam, becomes distilled water.
Figure 02: Water Purifier
Technically speaking, there is no difference between purified water and distilled water as impurities have been removed from both, and they both contain less than 10 PPM, which is the cutoff line for water to classify as pure water. However, even though distilled water is also, by definition, purified, it is not fit for drinking. Remember, purified water is no special water, and it is only a definition of water that contains less than 10 PPM. The level of purification is dependent upon the number of filters used and also upon the person carrying out the purification procedure. Another difference between distilled water and purified water is that distilled water is more expensive because of the energy required for boiling the water to bring it to the form of steam.
What is the Difference Between Distilled and Purified Water?
Though both distilled and purified water are pure forms of water, distilled water is not fit for consumption as it is devoid of all minerals considered good for our health. However, purified water is fit for consumption. This is the key difference between distilled and purified water. Distilled water is ideal for scientific experiments and for use in cars and inverter batteries or as a coolant in cars.
Summary – Distilled vs Purified Water
Both distilled and purified water are pure forms of water. The key difference between distilled and purified water is that distilled water is not fit for consumption as it is devoid of all minerals considered good for our health, whereas purified water is fit for consumption.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Aqua-distillata” By DP-1 – Own work (CC BY 2.5) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “WATER PURIFIER” By melvil – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia