subject: Be Familiar With Reverse Osmosis (ro) Technology [print this page] Reverse osmosis (RO) is a process by which dissolved ions are removed from water. Osmosis is a natural force whereby water is drawn to water with higher salt content. Using a motor/pump and a semi-permeable membrane, natural osmotic pressure can be overcome by applied pressure, forcing water through the membrane that rejects salts formerly dissolved in the water. The process was developed primarily with the goal of desalting oceans to produce potable water. Much of the financing for research and development was supplied by the U.S. Government. The U.S. military was especially interested in obtaining equipment that would desalt water as a means of supporting troops around the world.
Todays seawater reverse osmosis systems remove 99%+ of dissolved salts and operate at lower applied pressures than was originally required. These improvements are primarily due to developments in membrane technology. In addition to energy saved by more productive and higher rejecting membrane elements, new mechanical technology permits recovering and using pressure that previously was allowed to dissipate.
While most people associate RO with desalting oceans, almost 75% of applications worldwide are for treating water from sources other than oceans. Those other sources include wells, lakes, rivers, municipalities and waste water. Seawater that is treated with RO, ranges in concentration from 1.4% to 4.5% sodium chloride. The majority of wells, lakes and rivers is less than 1% sodium chloride. The pressures applied within reverse osmosis systems are dictated by the concentration/levels of dissolved salts/solids. The higher the concentrations of salts in the feed water, the higher the applied pressure required, and the greater use of energy. The chief operating cost for reverse osmosis systems is energy, usually electricity.
More than ever, RO technology is being used to treat waste water. Gallon for gallon, waste water RO applications use less energy than seawater applications, however, pre-treatment paths for waste water operations are usually more entailed and expensive than for seawater. Reverse osmosis was developed to remove inorganic salts like sodium chloride. Organics and metals in raw sewage and industrial waste require careful attention and special treatments ahead of RO membrane elements.
Pure Aqua Inc. is a global leader in the supply of packaged/skidded RO systems. Pure Aqua, Inc. is an OEM or system/equipment integrator specializing in membranes. The company works closely with membrane and equipment manufactures to package custom reverse osmosis systems. Please visit Pure Aquas website for your commercial and industrial water treatment solutions: http://www.pureaqua.com
