Top-Rated Water Purification Systems for Biopharmaceutical Applications

High-purity water is a core raw material in biopharmaceutical environments, as it affects product safety and regulatory compliance. Selecting the right water purification systems is a strategic decision that impacts quality and long-term operations.

Why Choose MECO?

For nearly a century, MECO has specialized exclusively in water purification technologies for critical applications, such as biopharmaceuticals, life sciences, food and beverage, industrial, desalination, and defense. These industries often require precision and compliance, making the production of high-quality products and processes essential. 

Headquartered in Mandeville, Louisiana, MECO has built a legacy of reliability and a commitment to quality, which has allowed it to operate as long as it has. Its singular focus on water purification has led to significant refinement and deep technical expertise in various processing methods and the machines that power them.

MECO’s strategic partnerships over the years have led to innovations that empower its clients in their own research and development processes. It continuously perfects its machines and services to ensure consistent quality and compliance across numerous industries and applications.

MECO’s Core Water Purification Technologies

Over the decades, MECO has developed several methods and machines for purifying water that reach the high standards required for biopharmaceutical research and development. Each system addresses various use cases within industry workflows, supporting lab work or manufacturing needs.

1. Deionized (DI) Water Tank Exchange Services

DI water tank exchange services from MECO are ideal for biopharmaceutical and health care environments that require consistent, high-purity DI water without having to maintain the equipment and complex processes involved in producing it. Instead of handling on-site regeneration or chemicals, facilities can receive DI tanks that they can exchange for new ones when necessary.

MECO produces each tank in tightly controlled conditions and with strict quality control, ensuring water purity suitable for laboratory and clinical applications. This approach ensures operational reliability and predictable performance at reduced financial and maintenance costs.

Key Features

• Pre-regenerated DI tanks exchanged on a scheduled or as-needed basis
• No on-site chemical handling or regeneration equipment
• Consistently high water quality for laboratory and clinical use

2. Reverse Osmosis (RO) Systems

RO systems from MECO provide an efficient, membrane-based method for removing dissolved salts, minerals, chemicals or other contaminants from the water supply. Depending on the client’s needs, RO systems can be a stand-alone process or part of a larger purification workflow.

These systems utilize high-quality membranes to ensure stable output and lower maintenance requirements. They are also highly customizable, as MECO uses a modular design to accommodate the unique needs of each client. Customers can request the configuration of multiple membrane stacks to accommodate various research or manufacturing needs and create the desired output.

Key Features

• High-efficiency removal of dissolved chemicals or contaminants
• Engineered for stable performance in regulated environments
• Scalable designs for various laboratories and manufacturing facilities

3. Multiple-Effect Distillation

Multiple-effect distillation systems from MECO are a proven solution for producing high-purity water, including water for injection (WFI), in pharmaceutical manufacturing operations. The process uses multiple steam and evaporation stages to efficiently boil feedwater and condense it into high-purity distillate.

This technology is highly effective at controlling and removing both ionic and biological contaminants, including endotoxins, ensuring safe and high-quality output. Multiple-effect distillation is also one of the most efficient methods for producing WFI, generating substantial quantities for large-scale manufacturing.

Key Features

• Steam-based purification with strong endotoxin control
• Large-scale output for pharmaceutical manufacturing needs
• High-purity output from multistage distillation

4. Vapor Compression Distillation

Vapor compression distillation systems from MECO provide high-purity water through energy-efficient thermal processes. This approach offers the benefits of distillation while recycling its own energy by compressing low-pressure steam into high-temperature steam, thereby essentially eliminating the need for external steam or cooling water after the process commences. 

These systems are ideal for pharmaceutical facilities with space or energy constraints, as they offer a more compact operation compared to traditional distillation technologies. MECO’s vapor compression machines can also operate without constant monitoring, enabling teams to distill water while attending to other tasks.

Key Features

• Reduced energy demand for distillation processes
• Effective contaminant control
• Low-maintenance operation

5. Media Filtration

Media filtration systems from MECO serve as essential pre-treatment components within biopharmaceutical water purification systems. These filters remove suspended solids, sediment, chlorine and other larger contaminants that can impact downstream equipment or processes.

Effective media filtration protects and enhances the performance of more sensitive equipment, such as RO membranes or DI resins. While it may not result in ultra pure water, it is critical to maintaining overall system reliability.

Key Features

• Removal of particulates and other larger contaminants
• Protection of subsequent purification technologies
• Improved system reliability and performance

Comparing MECO’s Water Purification Systems

Each of MECO’s purification systems is tailored for specific biopharmaceutical applications, from pre-treatment and convenient tank exchanges to large-scale, energy-efficient distillation. This table summarizes their distinct functions and benefits, making it easier to identify the ideal solution for any workflow.

Technology	Primary Function or Output	Core Technology	Key Benefit
DI water tank exchange services	High-purity DI water	Deionization service	Convenience with no on-site chemical handling or maintenance
ROsystems	Purified water	Membrane filtration	Efficient removal of dissolved contaminants
Multiple-effect distillation	Water for injection	Multistage steam distillation	Highest volume production of WFI with endotoxin removal
Vapor compression distillation	Water for injection	Energy-efficient distillation	Highest energy efficiency and lowest utility cost for distillation
Media filtration	Pre-treatment	Physical filtration	Protects downstream equipment and improves system reliability

The Critical Role of Water Purity in Biopharmaceutical Workflows

Water quality significantly impacts nearly every aspect of biopharmaceutical operations, affecting product quality and regulatory compliance. Even minor inconsistencies in water purity can introduce risks into systems designed for precision. Here’s how water quality affects various aspects of biopharmaceutical workflows.

Impact on Research and Development

During research and development, water purity plays a critical role in ensuring experimental accuracy and process reproducibility. Trace contaminants in improperly processed water can interfere with sensitive molecular processes, leading to inconsistencies and non-reproducible results.

Water quality is also crucial in cell culture applications, where impurities can disrupt chemical balances, introduce toxic elements or even introduce unwanted biological growth. Variations in water purity can affect cell viability and growth rates, potentially impacting experimental results and prolonging research timelines. High-purity water helps create a stable and controlled research environment, helping ensure consistent results across studies and teams.

Requirements for Quality Control and Analytics

Quality control and analytical laboratories rely on purified water to ensure accurate baselines and dependable test results. Even smaller contaminants can skew results and compromise the accuracy or timeliness of analytical methods. 

In microbiological testing, the presence of endotoxins or residual contaminants in water can invalidate experimental results and force retesting. These failures increase technicians’ workload and delay timelines. In some cases, they may require additional paperwork. Consistent water purity enables reliable analytics and helps maintain quality data for product releases and regulatory submissions.

Consequences of Water-Related Failures

Failures in water purification systems can have far-reaching operational and regulatory consequences. Contaminated or inconsistent water may lead to batch rejection and costly investigations. In manufacturing environments, these issues can disrupt production schedules and result in substantial financial losses.

From a compliance perspective, poor water system control is a common focus area during regulatory inspections, and deficiencies related to monitoring or maintenance may result in legal actions. High-quality water purification strategies minimize these risks by enabling consistent performance and clear documentation of these critical components in biopharmaceutical processes.

Indicators of Pharmaceutical Water Quality

Maintaining quality control over pharmaceutical-grade water and systems requires measuring specific parameters to assess whether water purification systems are functioning as intended and whether the water output meets the intended clinical or manufacturing requirements.

Conductivity

Conductivity, also known as resistivity, measures the ability of water to carry an electrical current, which is directly related to the concentration of dissolved ionic contaminants, such as salts and minerals. In pharmaceutical and laboratory applications, low conductivity indicates higher water purity and the effective removal of charged particles through processes like deionization.

Consistently low conductivity is crucial for applications where even minute amounts of ions can interfere with analytical methods or compromise the stability of specific formulations. Teams need to continuously monitor water conductivity to check for potential equipment failure or system contamination and address them immediately.

Total Organic Carbon (TOC)

As the name indicates, TOC measures the amount of organic material present in water. Many organic compounds may not affect conductivity, but they can still pose a serious risk in pharmaceutical processes. These contaminants can enable microbial growth or react with other active ingredients.

Monitoring TOC is especially important for water used in formulation and cleaning processes. Stable, low TOC values help ensure that water does not introduce unwanted chemical reactions or inconsistencies into sensitive biopharmaceutical operations.

Bioburden

Bioburden refers to the number of viable microorganisms present in a water sample, including bacteria and fungi. Even in systems designed for high purity, microorganisms can still survive and multiply in specific conditions, particularly in storage tanks or distribution loops.

Excessive bioburden can compromise product safety and contaminate equipment. It can also invalidate laboratory results or manufacturing workflows. Routine microbial monitoring is a crucial component of biopharmaceutical water quality control, particularly for systems involved in microbiological testing or aseptic processes.

Dissolved Ozone

Many biopharmaceutical water systems use ozone as a sanitizing agent to control microbial growth. It interacts with electron-rich molecules in the cell walls of bacteria and viruses, effectively killing them and disinfecting the entire batch of water. When properly used, ozone also leaves virtually no trace, as it naturally decomposes back into oxygen when exposed to ultraviolet light.

However, using ozone is a balancing act. Too little and it becomes ineffective, while excessive levels can create harmful reactions. Monitoring dissolved ozone levels helps ensure that sanitization is working as intended while also preventing any interference with product manufacturing or laboratory use. Proper control helps support both system hygiene and operational stability.

Storage and Distribution Strategies to Maintain Water Quality

Producing ultrapure water is half the battle in a biopharmaceutical facility. Maintaining that level of purity all the way to when the water gets used is just as important. Even the most advanced water purification systems can turn ineffective when combined with poorly designed or contaminated storage tanks or distribution pipes.

Proper engineering is essential to preserve water purity from the purification equipment until it reaches its endpoint.

Sanitary Storage Tank and System Design

A well-designed and well-maintained storage tank is essential for preserving the quality of purified water. MECO designs its tanks using high-grade 316L stainless steel, ensuring they are suitable for pharmaceutical and research applications. This type of material has a smooth, non-reactive finish that resists corrosion and prevents metals from leaching into the water.

Aside from selecting the right materials, MECO employs various sanitary engineering features that minimize the risk of contamination. Spray balls ensure internal circulation and high-efficiency vent filters protect the tank from particulates and microbes.

Each design element aims to minimize corrosion or stagnant zones where microorganisms could grow. As a result, the storage vessel becomes a secure and controlled environment for holding high-purity water without impacting its quality.

Optimized Distribution Loop

Once water leaves the storage tank, it enters the distribution loop, which is a network of pipes that delivers purified water through various parts of the facility. MECO engineers this loop to maintain continuous flow at a controlled velocity, minimizing the risk of microbial contamination.

Construction quality is another important factor. MECO’s distribution loops have precise slopes that enable proper drainage and sterilization. These systems are engineered to have no “dead legs,” or sections of pipe where water does not flow. These stagnant zones can quickly become breeding grounds for bacteria, and sound design means keeping each section of piping actively circulating.

Proactive Microbial Control

To further protect water quality, MECO integrates active and automated microbial control strategies directly into the storage and distribution system. It uses various sanitization and antimicrobial methods, depending on the type of water purification system and the client’s needs. Its methods include hot water, chemical agents and ozonation.

These technologies act continuously or on carefully programmed sequences to maintain system hygiene. Since they are built into the system, the sanitization process remains effective while taking minimal downtime.

Real-Time Monitoring

To ensure all these protective measures are working, MECO uses real-time monitoring throughout the entire storage and distribution system, taking note of characteristics like TOC, conductivity and temperatures. 

These sensors generate a continuous data stream that reflects the conditions of the system and the water inside it. The data feeds into a central control platform and interface that tracks performance and enables proactive maintenance.

Water Quality You Can Trust

Biopharmaceutical operations depend on water purification systems that deliver consistency and compliance. MECO’s portfolio shines in this regard, addressing various water quality needs with solutions carefully engineered for regulated and precision-focused environments.