With the accelerated development of industrialization and urbanization, water pollution problems have become increasingly serious, and water quality issues have always attracted people's attention. Therefore, as an effective water filtration equipment, reverse osmosis water filtration system has attracted more and more attention and favor.
What is a reverse osmosis water filtration system?
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a semi-permeable membrane to separate water molecules from other substances. RO applies pressure to overcome osmotic pressure that favors even distributions. RO can remove dissolved or suspended chemical species as well as biological substances (principally bacteria) and is used in industrial processes and the production of potable water. RO retains the solute on the pressurized side of the membrane and the purified solvent passes to the other side. It relies on the relative sizes of the various molecules to decide what passes through. "Selective" membranes reject large molecules while accepting smaller molecules (such as solvent molecules, e.g., water).
RO is most commonly known for its use in drinking water purification from seawater, removing the salt and other effluent materials from the water molecules.
Advantages of reverse osmosis water filtration system
Reverse osmosis (RO) water filtration systems are a popular choice for home and commercial water purification solutions due to their powerful filtration capabilities and many benefits. Here are the main advantages:
1. Excellent pollutant removal ability:
Wide range of removal: RO systems can effectively remove a variety of pollutants in water, including bacteria, viruses, heavy metals (such as lead, arsenic, and mercury), pesticides, chlorine, fluoride, sediments, and more.
High removal rates: Compared to other filtration methods, RO systems can remove up to 99% of dissolved solids and contaminants, providing higher-purity drinking water.
2. Improve the taste and smell of drinking water:
Removing odors: RO systems can remove substances that cause bad odors and tastes in water, such as chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, etc., making your drinking water more refreshing and delicious.
Improve the taste: By removing various impurities and minerals from the water, the RO system can make the water quality closer to pure water and taste better.
3. Convenient and easy to maintain:
Automated operation: Most RO systems have an automatic flushing function, which can clean the filter membrane regularly to ensure normal operation of the system.
Convenient filter element replacement: The filter element replacement process is simple and users can operate it by themselves.
Osmosis
In (forward) osmosis, the solvent moves from an area of low solute concentration (high water potential), through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration (low water potential). The driving force for the movement of the solvent is the reduction in the Gibbs free energy of the system in which the difference in solvent concentration between the sides of a membrane is reduced. This is called osmotic pressure. It reduces as the solvent moves into the more concentrated solution. Applying an external pressure to reverse the natural flow of pure solvent, thus, is reverse osmosis. The process is similar to other membrane technology applications.
RO differs from filtration in that the mechanism of fluid flow is reversed, as the solvent crosses the membrane, leaving the solute behind. The predominant removal mechanism in membrane filtration is straining, or size exclusion, where the pores are 0.01 micrometers or larger, so the process can theoretically achieve perfect efficiency regardless of parameters such as the solution's pressure and concentration. RO instead involves solvent diffusion across a membrane that is either nonporous or uses nanofiltration with pores 0.001 micrometers in size. The predominant removal mechanism is from differences in solubility or diffusivity, and the process is dependent on pressure, solute concentration, and other conditions.
RO requires pressure between 2–17 bar (30–250 psi) for fresh and brackish water and 40–82 bar (600–1200 psi) for seawater. Seawater has around 27 bar (390 psi) natural osmotic pressure that must be overcome.
Membrane pore sizes vary from 0.1 to 5.000 nm. Particle filtration removes particles of 1 µm or larger. Microfiltration removes particles of 50 nm or larger. Ultrafiltration removes particles of roughly 3 nm or larger. Nanofiltration removes particles of 1 nm or larger. RO is in the final category of membrane filtration, and hyperfiltration, and removes particles larger than 0.1 nm.
How to choose the right reverse osmosis water filtration system
There are several factors to consider when choosing the right RO system, here are some key steps:
1. Understand the key parameters, such as water production volume, wastewater ratio, filtration level, and filter element life.
2. Select filter element configuration: usually includes PP cotton filter element, activated carbon filter element, and RO membrane, which can meet basic filtration needs.
3. Brand and after-sales service: Choose a well-known brand of RO system to ensure better quality and more confidence in use. For example, choose the ITEHIL water filtration system, which has been tested and certified by the FDA, CE, EMC, PSE, FCC, and RoSH, and has a high-quality product experience and perfect after-sales service!
The ITEHIL reverse osmosis water filtration system uses PP cotton + activated carbon + reverse osmosis membrane to remove bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxic metals, pesticides, polyvinyl chloride, PFAS, etc., and can easily filter rainwater, spring water, lake water, pond water, and river water, sweat, urine, tap water, coffee, cola, etc. The portable design makes water filtering easier. USB-C charging takes only 2-3 hours to fully charge. Each charge can provide up to 9 gallons of drinking water, which is satisfactory. With the water needs of 13 adults living outdoors for a day, from ponds to rivers to creeks, ITHIIL enables fast and convenient water filtration at the source, portable water filtration has never been easier.
Overall, reverse osmosis water filtration systems are of great significance in modern life and can effectively protect our health and improve our quality of life. Choosing the right reverse osmosis water filtration system can have a positive impact on your family's health and environment.
