Reverse Osmosis & How it Works?

A reverse osmosis (RO) water purification system is a valuable investment for you and your family to enjoy healthy, great tasting purified water at the turn of a tap in your own home. Not only is a reverse osmosis system one of the most advanced and effective household water purification methods, most reverse osmosis systems do not need any electricity to operate.

Reverse Osmosis & How it Works

Reverse Osmosis is a process in which microscopic particulates are captured by an extremely fine membrane that allows the solute, in this case, water to pass through.  This process is so effective that it can take water with 500PPM and reduce that number to less than 10PPM – and, in many instances we can do much better than that.

This process is achieved through pressurization and, as noted above, extremely fine membranes or filters.  The solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the solvent is allowed to pass through the membrane.  The reason this process must occur under pressure is that the solution needs to be forced through the fine holes of the membrane.  In many systems there will be multiple stages of filtration.

The first filtration step will occur through an extremely crude manner.  In many instances, the process will include a sand bed filtration that is gravity fed.  This step is no more complicated than allowing the solution to percolate through a large sand bed – thus extracting many of the large particles that would clog finer filters and membranes – which are downstream in the plumbing system.

The next stage typically involves another filter, or series of filters, that catch particulates and suspended particles that were small enough to pass through the sand bed -which is stage 1 of the filtration process.  By implementing this second stage filter the process, in most instances, the solution is ready to actually pass through the finer filters/membranes – thus completing the reverse osmosis process.

Prior to running the solution through the final filtration stages, it must be ran through a “booster pump” that creates the pressurized portion of the system.

Once under pressure, the solution is ran through another membrane or series of membranes.  Depending on the water hardness, it might be necessary to use a series of reverse osmosis membranes to reach the desired PPM the operation requires.  Basic system components for a reverse osmosis system, used in the vehicle washing industry, can be viewed here.

What are some of the contaminants a reverse osmosis system can remove?

● Copper 98.5%

● Fluoride 93.6%

● Arsenic 88.0%

● Barium 96.3%

● Selenium 97.9%

● Total Dissolved Solids Reduction 90.8%

● Cadmium 99.1%

● Lead 98.6%

● Chromium Cr 6 96.4%

● Turbidity 99.1%

● Chlorine 95%

What are the health benefits of the reverse osmosis?

General tap water can contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) such as pesticides and herbicides, heavy metals, endocrine disrupting chemicals such as fluoride, as well as hormones and cysts.

Using a reverse osmosis will reduce all of these contaminants significantly, protecting your body from absorbing them.