Reverse osmosis is a vital technology used in water treatment plants and manufacturing facilities today. A reverse osmosis system essentially consists of a prefilter, high-pressure pump, membranes, instrumentation and controls. The pump increases pressure of high salt content water on one side of the membranes, forcing the pure water through a semipermeable membrane. The pure water is called permeate. Almost all of the contaminants (usually 99%) will be left on the other feed size, concentrating as it becomes the final reject water. The reject water is called concentrate.
Why do we use reverse osmosis? How effective is it? Let’s look into some of the questions you may have about the reverse osmosis system below.
What Does Reverse Osmosis Remove?
Reverse osmosis is incredibly valuable because of the amount of contaminants it can remove from water. Salt is often removed through reverse osmosis, as well as organics, colloids, and even bacteria. can also be removed from water through a reverse osmosis system. Essentially, the membranes used during reverse osmosis reject certain contaminants based on their size and their charge. If a particle has a molecular weight greater than 200, it will usually be rejected by a reverse osmosis system.
Quite often, reverse osmosis systems are used to treat brackish water, surface, groundwater and sometimes even industrial waste water. While you may assume that the water you’re working with can’t be treated through reverse osmosis, this is not always the case. The reach of reverse osmosis is much further than you might think.
How is Reverse Osmosis Utilized?
Reverse osmosis can be utilized in a number of different industries. For example, the pharmaceutical industry used reverse osmosis to manufacturer drugs and for research and development. Food and beverage industries also utilizes reverse osmosis in their manufacturing process. Boiler feed water is often treated through reverse osmosis, as is the water used in power plants, electronics and evern semiconductor manufacturing.
Clearly, a reverse osmosis system is efficient and effective, allowing water to be treated and freed of contaminants. If you work in a water treatment facility, it could very well be the best way for you to get the job done and produce water free of contaminants. Contact us at Agape Water Solutions for more information about what system would be best for your business.