Demineralized water for ice cube production

The water for the ice cubes is sourced from the local waterworks. But even a good drinking water quality is insufficient for industrial production. The water must be completely free of salts, particles, and bubbles, because it is vital that the ice cubes are high quality, clear as glass, clean to look at and easy to separate from each other.

Plusice has specialized in handcrafted ice cubes that are crystal-clear. These ice cubes are sold to high-end bars, restaurants and hotels among others. (Photo: Christian Steffensen © Silhorko-Eurowater A/S)

Water treatment solution

EUROWATER has many years of experience with water treatment for producing specialized ice for ice hockey, figure skating, curling and even speed skating. A valuable consultation process with the customer resulted in choosing a water treatment solution carefully matched to the machinery used and the complicated operating conditions, including a very fluctuating flow requirement over the course of the workday, week, and year.

The salt content of the drinking water is reduced by 98 % in a membrane unit, more specifically a reverse osmosis unit. In addition, the membrane acts as a microbiological barrier, as microorganisms cannot pass through it.

Before membrane filtration, it is absolutely necessary to pretreat the inlet water to maintain sustainable, problem free operation. A softening unit removes the hardness from the drinking water, which would otherwise precipitate and clog up the membranes. Free chlorine is also a problem for the membranes and can be removed with a carbon filter – but irrelevant in this case since Danish drinking water is not chlorinated.

The treated water is collected in a water storage tank and a subsequent pump unit ensures that the water is supplied to the production with a sufficient pressure.

Reverse osmosis unit in a food safety design. (Photo: Christian Steffensen © Silhorko-Eurowater A/S)