How does reverse osmosis works?

There are a lot of ways to filter dirt and contaminants on water. One of which is through the process of Reverse Osmosis. If you are looking for a defined definition of how this process works, this article can help understand the basics of the process and its application towards water filtration.

To understand the purpose of Reverse Osmosis, you must first understand the naturally occurring process of Osmosis. It is a phenomenon that is one of the most important processes in nature as it covers the migration of weaker saline solution to a strong solution. Examples of this process are when plant roots absorb water from the soil and our kidneys absorb water from our blood.

In comparison, Reverse Osmosis is technically an Osmosis process in reverse. It is a process that needs to apply energy to the more saline solution. A reverse osmosis membrane is a semi-permeable membrane that allows the passage of water molecules but not the majority of dissolved salts, organics, bacteria and pyrogens.

Process of Reverse Osmosis

In process, reverse osmosis uses a high-pressure pump to increase the pressure on the salty side and force the water across the permeable. The water that makes it through the RO membrane is called product water and usually has around 95% to 99% of the dissolved salts removed from it. Take note that the more concentrated the feed water, the more pressure is required to overcome the osmotic pressure.

It is important to understand that an RO system employs cross filtration rather than standard filtration where the contaminants are collected within the filter media. To avoid build-up of contaminants, cross-flow filtration allows water to sweep away contaminant build up and also allow enough turbulence to keep the membrane surface clean.

Effects and Performance of Reverse Osmosis

There are a lot of factors and methods to see if an RO system is effective. An RO system has instrumentation that displays quality, flow, pressure and sometimes other data like temperature or hours of operation. Make sure that when you are using an RO system, these data are within their range and does not exceed the threshold. Too much amount of these factors, such as the pressure or flow rate, can affect the effectivity of the process and jeopardize the quality of your water.

Pretreatment Solutions

Proper pretreatment using both mechanical and chemical treatments is critical for an RO system to prevent fouling, scaling and costly premature RO membrane failure and frequent cleaning requirements. In order to minimize these failures, make sure to use the following pretreatment solutions: Multi-Media Filtration, Microfiltration, Sodium Bisulfate Injection, Granular Activated Carbon, etc.

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