How Does Reverse Osmosis Work?
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Understanding the RO process is also important for students, engineers and others involved in water filtration and purification methods.
So how does reverse osmosis work?
The process called osmosis has been first described in 1748 by a French scientist. Later on, around 200 years after the discovery of osmosis, a new technology emerged, and it's now called reverse osmosis.
Its main job is to convert any contaminated or undesirable water into something that is safe to drink and use in every household and industries.
Reverse osmosis technology has been used in almost every field there is, such as humidification, ice making, rinse waters, restaurants, cosmetics, animal feeds, hatcheries, metal plating and laboratory applications, photography, and even in wastewater treatment.
The reverse osmosis works by forcing contaminated water to pass through a semi-permeable membrane through pressure. The main goal is to leave those unwanted impurities and contaminants to be left behind. In the end, you can then wash away these undesired substances, until you can produce well-treated high-quality water.
This specific procedure is being referred to as ion exclusion. The membrane of the RO system is filled with ions, which will then create a barrier where only water molecules can pass through. Other substances remain.
Here are the steps on how reverse osmosis works, specifically when you talk about the flow of water:
1. Water passes through the prefiltering stage
This phase is also being referred to as sedimentation. At this point, all gritty particles such as sand, silt, gravel, and stones, are removed from the water. They shouldn't reach the membrane, or else, they will seriously cause damage to it.
2. Water moves on to the charcoal prefilter.
There are some filters that are also added in the Ro system to make the treatment process even more effective. One of these is the charcoal pre-filter. Its primary use is to remove the unwanted taste and odor that one could associate to dirty source water.
3. Filtered water proceeds to the RO membrane.
In your quest of understanding how reverse osmosis works, you will discover that its membrane is one of the most important components of the system. It can clean your water by removing as much as 99 percent.
However, this may depend on the kind of concentration you have in your water. If you have more than one impurity or contaminant in your water, the rejection rate will practically go down, depending on the contaminant you are trying to analyze.
4. Waste water travels to the air gap faucet.
The water that is already considered waste by the RO system will be removed by allowing it to flow through the air gap faucet. Of all RO faucets, this is the one commonly required by the state as it doesn't prevent your waste water to be siphoned back into your RO unit.
5. Processed water goes through your main faucet.
Once you have activated the RO faucet, the processed water that is stored in the tank shall then leave the area, proceeds to the postfilter, and then comes out of your main faucet, which can be located in your kitchen or in your bathroom.
For more detailed information on how reverse osmosis works, check howstuffworks.com article on reverse osmosis with videos and images...
Related article: Reverse Osmosis Membranes - Choosing The Right Membrane Type
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