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Reverse Osmosis (Ro) : Hasler Wowo Bsce V

Reverse osmosis is a water purification process that uses a semi-permeable membrane to remove unwanted particles like ions and molecules from drinking water. It works by applying pressure to overcome osmotic pressure and reverse the natural flow of solvent across the membrane. The membrane allows pure solvent like water to pass through while retaining dissolved and suspended materials on the pressurized side. Reverse osmosis differs from filtration in that its removal mechanism involves solvent diffusion across a nonporous or nano-scale porous membrane rather than just particle size exclusion. It is commonly used to purify seawater for drinking water by removing the salt and other materials from the water molecules.

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54 views1 page

Reverse Osmosis (Ro) : Hasler Wowo Bsce V

Reverse osmosis is a water purification process that uses a semi-permeable membrane to remove unwanted particles like ions and molecules from drinking water. It works by applying pressure to overcome osmotic pressure and reverse the natural flow of solvent across the membrane. The membrane allows pure solvent like water to pass through while retaining dissolved and suspended materials on the pressurized side. Reverse osmosis differs from filtration in that its removal mechanism involves solvent diffusion across a nonporous or nano-scale porous membrane rather than just particle size exclusion. It is commonly used to purify seawater for drinking water by removing the salt and other materials from the water molecules.

Uploaded by

DaaZy LauZah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Hasler Wowo

BSCE V

Reverse osmosis (RO)
Reverse osmosis is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to
remove ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis,
an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pressure, a colligative property, which is driven
by chemical potential differences of the solvent, a thermodynamic parameter. Reverse osmosis
can remove many types of dissolved and suspended chemical species as well as biological ones
(principally bacteria) from water, and is used in both industrial processes and the production
of potable water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane
and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be "selective", this membrane should
not allow large molecules or ions through the pores (holes), but should allow smaller
components of the solution (such as solvent molecules, i.e., water, H2O) to pass freely.
In the normal osmosis process, the solvent naturally 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
free energy of the system when the difference in solvent concentration on either side of a
membrane is reduced, generating osmotic pressure due to the solvent moving 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.
Reverse osmosis differs from filtration in that the mechanism of fluid flow is by osmosis across a
membrane. 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. Reverse osmosis instead involves solvent diffusion across a membrane that is
either nonporous or uses Nano filtration 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. Reverse osmosis is most commonly
known for its use in drinking water purification from seawater, removing the salt and
other effluent materials from the water molecules.

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