Reverse Osmosis, known as RO system, is a technology that is used to remove a large majority of contaminant from water by pushing the water under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane.
To understand the purpose and the process of Reverse Osmosis, should understand the natural Osmosis operation.
Natural Osmosis:
The phenomenon of osmosis occurs when pure water flows from a dilute saline solution through a membrane into a higher concentrated saline solution. (Example of osmosis is our kidneys absorb water from our blood).
Figure (A): Natural osmosis operation principle. (Zahid amjad)
A semi-permeable membrane is placed between two sides. “Semi-permeable” means that the membrane is permeable to some species, and not permeable to others. Assume that this membrane is permeable to water, but not to salt. Then, place a salt solution in one side and pure water in the other side. The membrane will allow water to permeate through it to either side. But salt cannot pass through the membrane.
Figure (A) shows, the water diffuses through a semi-permeable membrane toward region of higher concentration to equalize strength of solution. Ultimate height difference between columns is “osmotic pressure” and this operation called “Natural Osmosis”.
The figure above, shows that natural …show more content…
The product water permeates through the fiber walls into the bore and exits through the tube sheet into permeate port. The brine flows between the outside of the fiber bundle and the inside wall of the pressure vessel to a brain port. The permeate exists at low pressure, but the brine undergoes a minimal pressure drop and is available to feed successive stages for additional recovery and greater system capacity. Individual hollow fiber permeators, for brackish application, operte at 50 percent