Freely available rainwater with its low mineral content can be used to real advantage in production and processing operations. It is not only available at no cost, but also offers technical benefits: Rainwater is low in dissolved minerals and therefore inherently soft - it leaves very low levels, if any, of mineral deposits or residues in the process equipment in which it is used. In many cases, there is no need to install any water softening equipment at all.
For these reasons, an increasing number of companies are installing systems for harvesting rainwater to use in their processes. Wherever large roof areas are available and there is a need for large quantities of soft process water, the possibility of harvesting rainwater should be considered.
Areas of application
Rainwater can be used as soft process water for applications that don't require drinking water quality. For example:
As cooling water
As drilling fluid
For irrigation or humidification
For filling fire-fighting water reservoirs
For flushing toilets
Companies can cut their water usage costs and become more resilient to future water price increases
The softness of rainwater reduces problems caused by limescale
The expense of investing in and operating water softening equipment is reduced or avoided altogether
Companies can enhance their public image as environmentally responsible operators by reducing their usage of mains water and the energy consumption associated with mains water processing