Many are interested in such a strange name for the phenomenon: "reverse osmosis." It comes from the Greek word for pressure or push. By it is meant a spontaneous process of transferring a substance, usually water, through a membrane - a semi-permeable septum that separates two solutions having an excellent concentration. This, for example, may be saline and pure water.
Technology
When the membrane, passing only water to a more concentrated substance, blocks the path of the dissolved elements, then at some point equilibrium occurs. Pressure equalized on both sides of the septum is called osmotic. This phenomenon has been used since the seventies of the last century for water purification, especially when receiving drinking from the sea.
Today, reverse osmosis is perhaps the most advanced technology. It is based on the use of the eponymous membrane. It is believed that it is able to purify water from any existing natural impurities.
History of occurrence
Reverse osmosis, as the process of separation of the solution components from each other, has a rather long history. Even the ancient Greeks, in particular, Aristotle, noticed that when sea water passes through the walls of a vessel of wax, it desalinates.
The study of membrane processes in more detail began only at the beginning of the eighteenth century, when Reaumur used semipermeable natural membranes for scientific purposes. However, until the twenties of the last century, these processes did not go beyond laboratory research.
In 1927, the German company Sartorius first obtained samples of artificial semi-permeable partitions. The development of technology was the impetus for the fact that reverse osmosis is used in filters in industrial and domestic conditions.
After the war, the Americans, based on the development of the Germans, launched the production of cellulose membranes. And only in the late sixties, when the production of synthetic materials began to spread, the first scientific developments began to be conducted, which became the basis for the industrial use of osmosis.
Nowadays, similar systems are already being installed everywhere, which allow drinking water with a maximum degree of purification. Its composition, obtained at the exit from the reverse osmosis system, is considered environmentally friendly. According to its characteristics, it is close to the meltwater of ancient glaciers.
Application
Water filters - reverse osmosis - are connected to the water supply, from which the water intended for treatment comes, while the selected impurities go into the sewer. The work process includes pre-treatment and passage through the membrane. After that, the flow, first getting into the drive, where the purified water is collected, goes already to the final treatment, and from there - to the tap.
The reverse osmosis filter today is the most economical, versatile and reliable method. It allows you to reduce the concentration of dissolved and colloidal dissolved components by almost one hundred percent, eliminating viruses and microorganisms from the liquid.
The most significant in this whole process is pre-treatment. In this system, the membrane (reverse osmosis) is the most expensive replacement element. The duration of its operation depends, firstly, on the quality of the incoming water. At this stage, three filters are used in series, the task of which is to prepare the liquid for passage through the membrane.