Reverse Osmosis Membrane

The full name of RO membrane is Reverse Osmosis Membrane, which is a core filter material used in water treatment. It is mainly used in water purifiers, seawater desalination, industrial pure water preparation and other fields. RO membrane uses reverse osmosis technology to force water to flow through an extremely fine semi-permeable membrane (pore size of about 0.1 nanometers) through high pressure, allowing only water molecules to pass through, while impurities such as dissolved salts, heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, and organic matter are intercepted, thereby achieving efficient purification.

1. Efficient desalination: Reverse osmosis membranes selectively intercept soluble salts (such as Na⁺, Cl⁻), colloids and macromolecular organic matter in water through their nanoscale pores (0.5-10 nm). The desalination rate generally exceeds 90%, and some composite membranes can reach more than 98%.

In seawater desalination, by applying pressure (higher than the osmotic pressure), water molecules are reversely permeated to the fresh water side, and salts are blocked on the concentrated water side to achieve fresh water production.
2. Deep water purification: It can remove bacteria, viruses (such as E. coli, norovirus), heavy metal ions (lead, mercury, arsenic) and organic pollutants (pesticide residues, chloroform), significantly improving the purity of water quality.

3. Energy-saving and environmental protection characteristics: Compared with traditional distillation, reverse osmosis technology consumes less energy and does not require chemical additives to avoid secondary pollution.
In industrial wastewater reuse, the recovery rate can be increased to 70%-90% through a multi-stage design, reducing water resource waste.

1. Household water purifier: commonly seen in under-sink RO reverse osmosis water purifiers, providing direct drinking water.
2. Industrial pure water: the demand for high-purity water in the electronics, pharmaceutical, chemical and other industries.
3. Seawater desalination: converting seawater into fresh water through RO membranes.
4. Wastewater treatment: recovering pure water from industrial wastewater.

1. RO membrane filtration will remove minerals from the water. Some high-end water purifiers will add post-mineralization filters to supplement trace elements.
2. When using, it is necessary to use a pre-filter (such as PP cotton, activated carbon) to protect the RO membrane and extend its life.
3. Wastewater ratio problem: RO membrane water purification will produce a certain proportion of concentrated wastewater (modern technology has been optimized to 1:1 or lower)
4.  Pressure-driven: A water pump is required to provide high pressure (home water purifiers usually need to be plugged in).
5.  Need to be replaced regularly: The membrane pores may be clogged after long-term use, and generally need to be replaced every 1-3 years (depending on water quality and frequency of use).