Reverse Osmosis Water Purification

Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration

If a choice had to be made, Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration would be elected as state-of-the-art in water treatment technology today. It provides Ultra-filtration and removes the smallest of impurities from drinking water.

Reverse osmosis water filters can filter out fluoride and other impurities in a way that a charcoal-based filter can't.  In addition to saline - or sodium - removal, reverse osmosis is also one of the few ways that we can take certain minerals or chemicals such as Total Dissolved Solids, Heavy Metals, Herbicides, and Pesticides out of a water supply. 

Reverse Osmosis membranes used in water filtration systems can on average, remove 95% of dissolved contaminants from water.  Only 1% of the city water entering the home is used for drinking and cooking - about 2-3 gallons per day - whereas the average home uses 300 gallons per day or more. So it makes sense to clean just the water needed for drinking and cooking at home. City water is available at the home from already-installed water mains and has the required pressure of 60 to 75 psi to make the reverse osmosis system work.

Osmosis is a naturally occurring process in human and animal membranes. Salts in the body fluids build up osmotic pressure, forcing water molecules through the living membranes in our bodies. In an under-sink reverse osmosis system, pressure from the city water overcomes the 'salt' pressure of the dissolved materials and forces the water molecules through a synthetic thin film membrane, leaving the dissolved salts behind. The city water enters the membrane filter element, and two streams leave; the clean water and the water containing the dissolved solid residue, called brine, which is discarded into the drain. On the comparative chart below, reverse osmosis removes the smallest of materials, from 1-micron down to 1- Angstrom. For materials larger than 1 micron, particle filters are used ahead of the RO membrane to prevent plugging of the tiny membrane pores.