The key feature of the Integrating Cavity Absorption Meter (ICAM) is that it produces an isotropic illumination of the liquid sample and thereby dramatically minimizes scattering effects. The ICAM can produce an effective optical path length up to several meters. As a consequence, it is capable of measuring absorption coefficients as low as 0.001 m-1. The early version of the ICAM was used previously to measure the absorption spectrum of pure water over the 380-700 nm range. To extend its range into the ultraviolet, several modifications have been completed. The preliminary tests showed that the modified ICAM was able to measure the absorption of pure water for the wavelength down to 300 nm. After extensive experimental investigation and analysis, we found that the absorption of Spectralon® (the highly diffusive and reflective material used to build the ICAM) has a higher impact on measurements of absorption in the UV range than we had expected. Observations of high values for pure water absorption in the UV, specifically between 300 and 360 nm, are a consequence of absorption by the Spectralon®. These results indicated that even more serious modifications were required (e.g. Spectralon® can not be used for a cavity in the UV). Consequently, we developed a new diffuse reflecting material and used fused silica powder (sub-micron level) sealed inside a quartz cell to replace the inner Spectralon® cavity of the ICAM. The new data is in excellent agreement with the Pope and Fry data (380-600 nm) and fills the gap between the 320 nm data of Quickenden and Irvin and 380 nm data of Pope and Fry. We present definitive results for the absorption spectrum of pure water between 300 and 600 nm.

The integrating cavity absorption meter (ICAM) has been used successfully to measure the low absorption coefficient of pure water. The ICAM produces an effective total path length of several meters or even longer, although the physical size of the instrument is only several centimeters. The long effective total path length ensures a high sensitivity that enables the ICAM to measure liquid mediums with low absorption. Compared to the conventional transmission type of instruments that were used to measure the same medium with the same path length, the ICAM eliminates the effect of scattering by introducing isotropic illumination in the medium, and consequently measures the true absorption coefficient of the medium in stead of the attenuation coefficient. The original ICAM was constructed with Spectralon and used in the wavelength range from 380 nm to 700 nm. Later studies showed that Spectralon is not suitable for measurements in the UV region because of its relatively lower reflectivity in this region and, even worse, the continuously decaying reflectivity under the exposure to UV radiation. Thus, we have developed a new way to construct the ICAM utilizing the material fumed silica. The resulting ICAM has a high sensitivity even in the UV region and doesn't have the deterioration problem. The measurement results from the new ICAM are in good agreement with the existing results. The absorption coefficients of pure water at wavelengths between 250 nm and 400 nm are presented here.

Many manufacturing companies are looking for ways to substitute environmentally problematic cleaning methods for surface treatments with more environmentally friendly ones. In this paper, one potential solution is described. The Qlean method, based on cleaning with highly pure water (in this paper defined as Qlean Water), is a novel cleaning method. This method, now utilized at one plant at a leading major international electronic company, has substituted previous chemical-based methods for cleaning printed circuit boards prior to lacquering. This paper presents, based on that company's primary data, a comparative study using environmental analysis and economic life cycle cost review between cleaning with Qlean Water and conventional cleaning. The focus is on the environmental and economic performance of the two alternatives. The conclusion is that Qlean Water offers both a significant economic and environmental cost reduction and a better product. This is the case even though all identified economic benefits derived from using Qlean Water, e.g. that the quality and technical lifetime have been extended for the printed circuit boards with the Qlean Water cleaning method, are not considered in the economic analysis.

Detergents are broadly used in our everyday life for cleaning and washing procedures. They are however, a source of water pollution and can have a negative effect on human health and the environment. To reduce their negative impact, a new trend of using only pure water for washing and cleaning applications is being implemented. However, a scientific basis needs to be established first, as the mechanisms and the effectiveness of this method are not fully understood. In this work, we aim to investigate the effect of water purity on the removal of oil from surfaces and the stability of colloidal systems. To do that, two purified water grades are compared with non-purified tap water and 10 mM NaCl solution. Results from measurement of oil film mass before and after water contact and Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) indicate that purified water grades can wash a surface more efficiently than non-purified water grades. Contact angle measurements show that pure water facilitates the cleaning process while spreading of oil on plastic surfaces indicates that electrostatic interactions have an important role in the system. Visual observations of o/w emulsions, show that purified water grades redisperse the oil better. We hypothesize that the mechanism behind the cleaning and washing without detergents relies on the electrostatic interactions. To further investigate the effect of salt on cleaning mechanisms, we performed zeta potential measurements. Results indicate that salt has a negative effect on the stability of the particles.

La détermination des propriétés physiques de l’eau pure, notamment la pression de vapeur saturante en fonction de la température, est un enjeu majeur en humidité et identifié comme tel par le Comité Consultatif de Thermométrie (CCT-WG6) sous-groupe Humidité du Comité Technique de Température (TC-T) afin d’améliorer les incertitudes des références nationales en humidité. A cette fin, le LNE-CETIAT et le LNE-Cnam ont développé conjointement un dispositif expérimental permettant d’accéder au couple température / pression de vapeur saturante de l’eau pure. Le principe est basé sur une mesure statique de la pression et de la température dans une cellule d’équilibre associée à un calorimètre quasi-adiabatique. La gamme de température d’équilibre couverte s’étend de 193,15 K à 373,15 K, correspondant à une pression de vapeur saturante allant de 0,06 Pa à 105 Pa.Ce travail présente la description, la réalisation et la caractérisation métrologique de ce nouveau dispositif expérimentale. Les résultats des mesures expérimentales sont comparés avec les travaux théoriques et expérimentaux les plus récents. Le budget d'incertitude finale prend en compte la contribution de la mesure de pression, de la mesure de température et des effets parasites telles que la transpiration thermique et la pression aérostatique. Grace aux différentes solutions mises en œuvre, la contribution des mesures de température dans le bilan d’incertitude globale est réduite. La part prépondérante reste essentiellement associée à la mesure de pression. / The determination of the physical properties of pure water, especially the vapor-pressure curve, is one of the major issues identified by the Consultative Committee for Thermometry (CCT) of the technical committee in thermometry sub-field hygrometry to improve the accuracy of the national references in humidity.In order to achieve this objective, the LNE-CETIAT and the LNE-Cnam have jointly built a facility dedicated to the measurement of the saturation vapor pressure and temperature of pure water. The principle is based on a static measurement of the pressure and the temperature of pure water in a closed, temperature-controlled thermostat, conceived like a quasi-adiabatic calorimeter. The explored temperature range lies between 193,15 K and 373,15 K, and the pressure range between 0,06 Pa and 105 Pa.This work presents a full description of this facility and the preliminary results obtained for its characterization. The obtained results have been compared with available literature data. The final uncertainty budget took into account several components: pressure measurements, temperature measurements and environmental error sources such as thermal transpiration and hydrostatic pressure correction. Thanks to the employment of several technical solutions, the thermal contribution to the overall uncertainty budget is reduced, and the remaining major part is mainly due to pressure measurements.