According to Wikipedia, ‘Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a semi permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from water.’
Before we dwell deep into understanding the process of reverse osmosis, we should understand the phenomenon of ‘osmosis’ that occurs naturally in nature. In the natural osmosis process, less concentrated liquid (salt water / seawater) flows towards the direction of higher concentration (more saline water).
What happens in Reverse Osmosis?
In Reverse Osmosis (RO), the opposite flow is achieved applying external pressure. High pressure pumps push water through a semi-permeable membrane causing the salts to be left behind, and fresh water to move to the other side.
The above image depicts the process of reverse osmosis in a nutshell. Reverse osmosis can remove salts, organic and inorganic particles, and some types of bacteria and virus. It is therefore a common method of water treatment used in the middle east and other countries.
What are the applications of Reverse Osmosis?
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a commonly used water treatment method in a variety of industries. Small household filters to large scale industrial RO plants use Reverse osmosis for desalination of water. Offshore vessels use reverse osmosis to desalinate sea water for drinking and other applications. The machine used on board an offshore vessel is commonly called a Water Maker.
Food and Beverage manufacturing units use reverse osmosis to remove impurities from their water supply. RO plants treat ground or sea water and convert it to clean water fit to be pumped into their manufacturing process.
Other industries that commonly use RO plants and construction, commercial and residential complexes, and agricultural farms and fisheries.
For over 36 years Advanced Watertek has provided energy efficient Reverse Osmosis systems (RO Water Makers) that generate safe and clean water for drinking and other applications, using high quality components and conservative design.
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