Water being the most important source of life on planet earth makes its availability of utmost importance. The very reason behind ancient civilizations thrived on the banks of rivers was because of the abundant availability of fresh water. However, with depleting sources of fresh water, surging growth of human population and migrating number of aquatic habitats, it has made it imperative to produce or attain fresh water from the sea. Thus prompting the need for the usage of desalination plants.
There are over 13,000 desalination plants globally, which produce a total of almost 45 billion liters of water every single year. Two of the most common techniques when it comes to the production of fresh water are Multi Stage Distillation, aka MSF, and the Reverse Osmosis Process, aka RO. Herein, we’ll specifically highlight the use cases and applications of Reverse Osmosis plants and its importance according to a leading reverse osmosis plants suppliers.
The RO History
Unlike the osmosis process, one cannot simply witness the reverse osmosis process occurring in our everyday life. It was back in the 1950s when researchers had first begun to explore the concept of desalinating the ocean water, which thus prompted the possible emergence of the reverse osmosis process. Researchers found that by applying a certain level of pressure to the side of the saltwater it can go on to produce fresh water. However, back then, the amount of fresh water produced through this technique was extremely small and was not helpful practically. But, things soon changed.
Two UCLA scientists had gone above and beyond to come up with a much more advanced and effective filter. The filter had hand-casted membranes which were made from cellular acetate. This allowed a large volume of water to move in rapid fashion. This led to the very first reverse osmosis desalination plan being run on a small scale operation back in California in 1965.
This gives us an idea about the most common use case of reverse osmosis, one which we have already discussed above, desalination of water.
The RO Technology
Reverse Osmosis technology is used for the purification of water in wastewater treatment methodologies. Like an ultrafiltration technique, it uses a semipermeable membrane in order to remove the larger harmful particles from the drinking water.The only difference according to reverse osmosis plants suppliers is that in the RO process the applied pressure is done to overcome the osmotic pressure that is caused.
Today, for the long-term sustainability and security of various cities and towns across the globe, reverse osmosis plants are used to bring forward a molecular purification solution of water. Needless to mention, the process of reverse osmosis also helps remove the various types of molecules and ions like bacteria from the solution.
Other Use Cases
It is often seen that various water sources have a high level of natural fluoridation. This can lead to various problems; it can cause mottled teeth or severe level of skeletal fluorosis. One of the key applications of reverse osmosis is its ability to take out certain mineral or chemical additions from the water supply. Similarly, it can help filter out the fluoride composition and other impurities on a large scale.
It is also used for the purpose of recycling as it can help take out clean water from the wastewater. Additionally, the process can be continued as the clean water obtained from the wastewater can then be treated through the RO process to obtain something drinkable.
Aside from this, reverse osmosis plants suppliers mention how it is used across different industries as well, most commonly for maple syrup and dairy purposes. With time and advancements in technology, the use cases for the RO process will only increase.
