The electronics and power industries in Asia will make the most contribution toward generating $468 million in ultrapure instrument and control sales this year.
This is the conclusion in Ultrapure Water World Market published by the McIlvaine Company.
Control requirements for ultrapure water are demanding due to the need to integrate a number of purification processes. The need to reduce contamination to very low levels challenges the instrument suppliers.
In the semiconductor industry, ultrapure water takes the following path:
- Pretreatment
- Make-up
- Polishing
- Distribution Systems
- Recovery
- Reuse & Reclaim
Reuse & ReclaimThe steps to reuse and reclaim have developed over the last decade and add to the control complexity. For example, consider just the treatment of Copper CMP Wastewater. One of the turnkey solutions suppliers is Ovivo. Their process adds a catalyst to copper waste utilizing the oxidant present to form a strong oxidizer. The strong oxidizer breaks down the complexed copper and reduces the wastewater s organic concentration. Copper can then be precipitated as copper hydroxide and removed with the slurry particles. Ovivos advanced oxidation process is notable for:
Lowest chemical consumption
Achieving stringent wastewater discharge requirements
Reducing not only copper, but also organicsPreventive maintenance requirements are often included in the automation system. The reverse osmosis system is maintenance prone. The filters need to be cleaned or replaced on a regular basis. The differential measurement can be used to determine at which point the filters need to be cleaned or replaced. Typically, a pressure switch is used in these applications; however, problems can arise from vibration and pressure surges in the system.
One semiconductor facility switched to a Yokogawa EJA transmitter which produced consistently accurate output, resulting in better process efficiency and less maintenance downtime.
Ultrapure water control and instrumentation requirements for coal-fired power plants have become more challenging with the advent of ultra-supercritical designs, the high pressures and high temperatures along with the increased water purity requirements.
