Reverse Osmosis Technology - Kinetico Water Systems TX Série Guide Du Propriétaire

R O
EVERSE SMOSIS
In the early 1960s, the use of reverse osmosis (RO) began its commercial debut. Before this time, the
technology had been used by the U.S. military for the purification of water for troops. Since its introduction
into the market, RO has continued to gain popularity. RO technology offers the finest level of filtration
available. The RO membrane acts as a barrier to dissolved salts and inorganic molecules, as well as organic
molecules with a molecular weight greater than approximately 100. Water molecules, on the other hand,
pass freely through the membrane creating a purified product stream.
The applications for RO are diverse and include desalination of sea water or brackish water for drinking
purposes, food and beverage processing, purification of home drinking water and many others. Utilizing RO
prior to Ion Exchange (IX) for the production of ultra high water qualities dramatically reduces operating costs
and regeneration frequency of the IX system. Pressures associated with RO systems can range from 40 psi
for tap water systems to 1,000 psi for sea water desalination systems.
Concentrated
RO technology is not new. The process of osmosis is actually found in nature and in the human body. In this
application human membranes allow nutrients or waste products to pass in and out of the blood stream.
"Semipermeable" means that the membrane is permeable to some species and not permeable to others.
Most semipermeable membranes allow water to pass through and not other molecules or ions. Figure 1
shows a concentrated solution will increase in volume as water from the dilute solution permeates through the
membrane. In this fashion, the concentrations on either side of the membrane become equal, even though
the volumes are not.
This dilution relationship can be quantified by the rise in the height of the salt solution. This height will
increase until the pressure of the column of water (salt solution) is so high that the force of this water column
stops the water flow. The equilibrium point of this water column height in terms of water pressure against the
membrane is called osmotic pressure.
Reverse osmosis (Figure 2) is created if a force is applied to this column of water. Thus the direction of water
flow through the membrane can be reversed. This is the basis of the term reverse osmosis. This reversed
flow produces "permeate" water from the salt solution, since the membrane does not permit most salt to pass
through it. The typical rejection of a semipermeable membrane is over 95%. This means that it will reject
95% of the salts and let 5% pass through.
Kinetico Incorporated  Corporate Headquarters  Newbury, Ohio 44065  440-564-9111
Rev. 11/2016
T
ECHNOLOGY
Semipermeable Membrane
Solution Dilute Solution
Figure 1
Figure 2
Concentrated Solution
4
TX Series Owners Manual
Dilute Solution
Product No. 13591E