A special type of water filtration, reverse osmosis (RO) uses a semi-permeable membrane with pores small enough to pass pure water through, while rejecting larger molecules and contaminants like dissolved salt ions and bacteria. Reverse osmosis is commonly used to produce high-quality purified water for drinking, industrial boilers, food and beverage processing, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, seawater desalination, and a variety of other applications. It has been recognized for over a century, and used commercially since the 1960s.
Reverse Osmosis Membranes
The heart of a reverse osmosis system is its individual filtration membranes. Each one is a wound-spiral of semi-permeable material in either 2-inch, 4-inch, or 8-inch diameters, with 4- and 8-inch systems being the most common. The industry-standard membrane length is 40-inches, which ensures that membranes are cross-compatible between different filtration systems.
Early membranes were constructed using cellulose acetate (CA) which was later abandoned in favor of a thin film composite (TFC) on top of a strong substrate. This method is what is primarily used today.
How Does Reverse Osmosis Work?
Reverse osmosis uses pressure to pass water through a membrane to separate impurities from the water for consumption.
RO operates using the principle of osmosis, which is the tendency of water with salts in it to flow through a membrane from a low salt concentration to higher salt concentration. The process is found throughout nature, as plants use this principle to absorb water from the soil, and kidneys use osmosis to absorb water from blood.
In a reverse osmosis system, pressure from a pump is used to overcome natural osmotic pressure, forcing feedwater with its dissolved salts and impurities through a membrane that removes a large amount of impurities. The product is highly purified water.
Salts and impurities captured by the membrane are passed from the system to drain. Typical commercial industrial RO machines purify 75% of the feedwater, and can purify up to 85% of water in situations where water conservation is a priority.
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With nearly a century’s time in business, and a thorough understanding of residential and commercial water filtration systems, you can rely on Domer’s for your water purification needs.
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