Pushing Water: How Reverse Osmosis Works

When you're considering an industrial reverse osmosis (RO) system for your company, you'll need to understand what sets it apart from other water purification systems on the market. First developed in the 1950s, reverse osmosis was initially used for water desalination. A lot of industries now use RO to ensure pure water for their facilities.

To know how reverse osmosis works, you'll have to understand osmosis first. Osmosis is the natural process in which particles in one solution transfer to another through a semi-permeable membrane. This happens because when two solutions with two different concentration levels are separated by a membrane. The solvent tends to move from the less-concentrated to the more-concentrated solution to achieve equilibrium. Reverse osmosis causes the process to go the other way: the high-concentration solution, usually dirty water, is forced through the membrane towards the low-concentration solution. The various contaminants (or solute) are then caught by the membrane to be flushed out, while the purified water joins the clean water on the other side of the membrane.

The process is fast and efficient, plus, it doesn't use as much energy as other water purification solutions. This makes it a boon for companies who are looking at their bottom line. Company owners looking for a regular source of clean water should check out industrial RO filters to find the type that they can use.