Semiconductor fabs use ultrapure water (UPW) to clean and rinse wafers and support other manufacturing steps. They also need water for facility systems such as cooling and exhaust abatement. Because water picks up different contaminants as it moves through a fab, facilities typically manage wastewater by stream, treating it to meet its discharge requirements or the quality needed for a planned reuse. A treated stream is not automatically suitable for every use.
Why semiconductor fabs need ultrapure water
Wafer manufacturing depends on water that is clean enough not to leave unwanted material on sensitive surfaces. EPA technical material describes ultrapure or deionized water being used to formulate acids, rinse wafers, collect exhaust gases, clean equipment, and support wafer slicing and grinding. Water also serves facility needs, including cooling and abatement; not all water entering a fab is used directly on a wafer.
UPW is made by treating incoming source water. The required quality depends on the process and where the water is used. SEMI F63 is the industry guide relevant to specifying, monitoring, and controlling UPW quality through its point of use. It is a quality-management reference, not a single treatment recipe that applies to every facility.
How water moves through a fab
1. Source water is conditioned
A fab receives water from one or more sources and conditions it for facility use. Some of that water is further treated to produce UPW. EPA’s historical technical material describes incoming water being pretreated by deionization. An EPA project report describes a particular makeup loop using membranes, followed by a polishing loop using ion exchange and ultraviolet oxidation. These are examples from specific sources, not a universal or current process specification.
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2. UPW supports manufacturing
After treatment, UPW is distributed to process tools and other points of use. As it contacts manufacturing processes, it can pick up material from rinsing, cleaning, etching, polishing, and other operations. The resulting water is no longer interchangeable with fresh UPW simply because it began as UPW.
3. Wastewater is separated and treated for its destination
Wastewater streams can differ substantially in chemistry. EPA’s 2022 industry study identifies UPW reject, photolithography solvents and rinses, and polishing among reported sources at a surveyed 300 mm fab. EPA’s survey examples also show that facilities use different combinations of treatment operations. The practical implication is that a fab assesses streams and treatment needs individually rather than relying on one treatment train for all wastewater.
What wastewater treatment can involve
Documented operations include clarification, chemical precipitation, filtration or microfiltration, pH adjustment, and treatment aimed at particular pollutants. In examples from EPA’s facility survey, fluoride was treated using calcium hydroxide precipitation, and the survey also describes copper-treatment approaches. These examples show the range of methods in use; they are not a complete design specification or a recommendation for a particular facility.
Treatment selection depends on the wastewater’s composition, the intended destination, and the site’s discharge obligations. A process that removes one contaminant or produces water suitable for one reuse may not meet the needs of another stream or use.
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Where treated water can go
Reuse planning starts with the intended end use and the water quality it requires. SEMI F98 addresses reuse-water treatment systems in semiconductor facilities and identifies potential destinations including cooling, irrigation, and the front end of the UPW system. EPA’s facility survey gives examples of recycling water to later rinses, cooling towers, and scrubbers. Other potential destinations described by SEMI F98 include point-of-use abatement and thermal processes.
| Potential destination | What the sources establish |
|---|---|
| Later-stage rinses | EPA’s facility survey reports examples of recycling water to later rinses. The required quality depends on the reuse point and the facility’s controls. |
| Cooling towers or scrubbers | EPA’s survey reports examples of reuse in cooling towers and scrubbers. SEMI F98 lists cooling and exhaust scrubbers among potential reuse applications. |
| Irrigation, point-of-use abatement, or thermal processes | SEMI F98 lists these as potential applications for reuse-water systems; that does not establish that a particular fab’s treated stream is suitable for them. |
| UPW-system front end | SEMI F98 identifies this as a potential reuse destination when water quality and system design allow it. Reclaimed water may need additional treatment before entering the UPW system. |
SEMI F98 concerns reuse-system design and operation; it is not a blanket approval to send treated wastewater to any destination. A project needs to account for source-water quality, stream segregation, treatment, target quality, discharge requirements, and site constraints.
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What published water-use figures do—and do not—show
Figures in industry and government publications describe specific samples or historical examples. They should not be read as universal present-day benchmarks for an individual fab.
| Reported figure | Scope and qualification |
|---|---|
| 4.25 billion gallons of UPW, or about 1.16 million gallons per day | NIST’s 2024 assessment reports this as the median UPW use across a sample of 29 semiconductor fabrication facilities in 2021. It is the sample median, not a universal per-fab average or a current industry figure. |
| 40–70% of received water recycled | NIST’s 2024 assessment reports this as an estimate for an average semiconductor fabrication facility using conventional on-site wastewater treatment, as of 2022, attributing the range to IEEE (2023). It is not a measured rate for every fab. |
| About 2 billion gallons (7.6 million cubic metres) internally recycled in 2010 | EPA’s 2012 Guidelines for Water Reuse recounts this historical Intel example and describes the amount as equivalent to 25% of total water withdrawals. It does not establish Intel’s current performance. |
| 1.25–1.5 gallons of source water per gallon of UPW | EPA’s 2012 Guidelines for Water Reuse recounts this as a historical Intel efficiency example. It is not a current industry-wide yield. |
How treatment systems should be compared
There is no universally best treatment train established by these examples. To compare a proposed system or reuse project, evaluate the factors that determine whether it can meet its actual objective:
- Reuse destination and target quality: identify the intended point of use and the water quality it requires.
- Source water and pretreatment: account for incoming water quality and the conditioning needed before process use.
- Wastewater chemistry and segregation: identify contaminants and whether streams need separate handling.
- Treatment train: match operations to the stream and required outcome rather than selecting a technology in isolation.
- Discharge route and obligations: verify that treatment also supports the facility’s applicable discharge requirements.
- Site constraints: consider the facility’s existing systems and operating conditions.
SEMI F98 describes reuse-system planning and multiple possible destinations, while EPA’s facility survey illustrates that actual arrangements vary. A design decision therefore needs a defined influent, target quality, scale, and discharge or reuse objective.
Standards and discharge requirements
SEMI F63 covers UPW used in semiconductor processing; SEMI F98 addresses reuse-water treatment in semiconductor facilities. They are relevant industry references for quality management and reuse-system design. Their edition details and access terms can change, so consult SEMI’s current listings when selecting a standard for a project.
EPA identifies the electrical and electronic components effluent guidelines under 40 CFR Part 469 and provides industry-study and permitting resources. The 2022 EPA study is a technical survey, not a substitute for checking the current rule and the facility’s permits when determining compliance obligations.
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