REVERSE OSMOSIS

INTRODUCTION
Reverse osmosis is a technology that is used to
remove a large majority of contaminants from water
by pushing the water under pressure through a
semi-permeable membrane.
In the reverse osmosis process cellophane-like
membranes separate purified water from
contaminated water.
RO can also act as an ultra-filter removing particles
such as some micro-organisms that may be too large
to pass through the pores of the membrane.
The efficiency of a reverse osmosis water filter is
affected by the water pressure coming into the
system and the temperature of that water.
Higher pressures increase production and vice
versa.
The optimal pressure is 65 PSI and temperature is
77C.

HOW DOES REVERSE OSMOSIS WORK?

Reverse osmosis works by using a high pressure pump to
increase the pressure on the salt side of the RO and force
the water across the semi-permeable RO membrane,
leaving almost all of dissolved salts behind in the reject
stream. the amount of pressure required depends on the
salt concentration of the feed water.
The desalinated water that is demineralized or deionized,
is called PERMEATE water. The water stream that carries
the concentrated contaminants that did not pass through
the RO membrane is called the REJECT STREAM.
RO system employs cross filtration rather than standard
filtration where the contaminants are collected within the
filter media. With cross filtration, the solution passes
through the filter, with two outlets: the filtered water goes
one way and the contaminated water goes another way. To
avoid build up of contaminants, cross flow filtration allows
water to sweep away contaminant build.

WHAT CONTAMINANTS CAN BE REMOVED BY RO?

Reverse osmosis is capable of removing up to 99%+ of the dissolved salts, particles,
colloids, organics, pesticides, bacteria and pyrogens from the feed water.
An RO membrane rejects contaminants based on their size and charge. any contaminant
that has a molecular weight greater than 200 is likely rejected by a properly running RO
system, the greater the ionic charge of the contaminant, the more likely it will be unable
to pass through the RO membrane.
An RO system does not remove gases such as CO2 very well because they are not highly
ionized while in solution and have a very low molecular weight.
Since an RO system does not remove gases, the permeate water can have a slightly
lower than normal pH level depending on CO2 levels in the feed water as the CO2 is
converted to carbonic acid.

WHAT ARE THE STAGES IN A RO SYSTEM?

Below is a simplified and exploded diagram of a typical 4-stage reverse osmosis
system.

 1.Sediment Pre-filter
Melt blown polypropylene removes dirt, rust and sediment particles down to 5 microns. There are several
different types of sediment cartridges.
Pleated filtersfeature increased surface area and longer life. These cartridges are washable and reusable.
2.Carbon Pre-filter
Activated carbon block filterstypically have a 0.5 to 10 micron filtration capability, making it also helpful
for particulate filtration, removing taste and odour fromchlorine, insoluble lead reduction, and
demonstrating, in some cases, removal of giardia andcryptosporidium.
3.Reverse Osmosis Membrane
Thin film composite (TFC) rejects 95% of total dissolved solids down to .0001 microns.
Thin film composite membranes(TFC) are semi permeable membranes manufactured principally for use in
water purification or water desalination systems.
4.Post Carbon Filter
Coconut shell activated carbon is the final polishing filter after storage tank, just before you use the water.
Inline Post Filterstypically clip onto the top of a reverse osmosis system's membrane housing. The post
filter removes any chlorine or contaminants missed by the other cartridges or membrane.

W
HAT MAKES UP A REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM?
The following components make up your reverse osmosis system:
Reverse osmosis module : TheRO moduleis the main component and
holds the pre-filters and membrane, and post filter. A bracket is provided so
they can be mounted under the sink or in a basement.
Feed water valve : Feed water valveconnects to the cold water line to
supply water to the RO system. This valve comes in several different types.
Anangle stop valvescrews onto the cold water line directly above the cold
water shut-off valve. Afaucet adaptorconnects to the cold water line just
below an existing faucet. Aself-piercing valve clamps onto the cold water line
and makes a small puncture in the pipe.
Pre-filter #1: melt blown polypropylene filter removes larger particles such
as dirt, rust & sediment.
Pre-filter #2: 10 micron carbon block removes chlorine and chemical
contaminants in the feed water and protects the RO membrane.
Automatic shut-off valve : automatic shut-off valvecloses when the
storage tank is full and shuts off the water supply to conserve water. The
valve activates when the tank pressure is 2/3 of the feed pressure.

 Membrane : Reverse osmosis membranethin film composite membranes reduces

dissolved minerals, metals, and salts. In this process, harmful compounds are separated by
the membrane from the water, and the contaminants are flushed to the drain.
Drain valve : Wastewater saddle valveconnects to the drain to remove reject water from
the RO system.
Post filter : A coconut shell activated carbonpost filteris provided for a final "polish" and
to remove tastes, odours and to provide great tasting water.
Bladder storage tank : Bladder tankholds RO purified water, ready to use.
Drinking water faucet : TheRO faucetis used to dispense purified water when you want
it.
Tubing : Tubingconnects all RO components.
Quick-connect fittings : Quick-connect fittingsare used for necessary tubing
connections.

REVERSE OSMOSIS PERFORMANCE & DESIGN CALCULATIONS

There are a handful of calculations that are used to judge the performance of an RO
system and also for design considerations. An RO system has instrumentation that
displays quality, flow, pressure and sometimes other data like temperature or hours of
operation. In order to accurately measure the performance of an RO system you need the
following operation parameters at a minimum:
1. Feed pressure
2. Permeate pressure
3. Concentrate pressure
4. Feed conductivity
5. Permeate conductivity
6. Feed flow
7. Permeate flow
8. Temperature

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PASSES AND STAGES IN A RO SYSTEM

In a one stage RO system, the
feed water enters the RO
system as one stream and
exits the RO as either
concentrate or permeate
water.
In a two-stage system the
concentrate (or reject) from
the first stage then becomes
the feed water to the second
stage. The permeate water is
collected from the first stage
is combined with permeate
water from the second stage.
Additional stages increase the

 Think of apassas a stand alone RO

system. With this in mind, the difference
between a single pass RO system and a
double pass RO system is that with a
double pass RO, the permeate from the
first pass becomes the feed water to the
second pass (or second RO) which ends
up producing a much higher quality
permeate because it has essentially
gone through two RO systems.
Besides producing a much higher quality
permeate, a double pass system also
allows the opportunity to remove carbon
dioxide gas from the permeate by
injecting caustic between the first and
second pass.

RO MEMBRANE CLEANING
RO membranes will inevitably require periodic cleaning,
anywhere from 1 to 4 times a year depending on the feed
water quality. As a general rule, if the normalized pressure
drop or the normalized salt passage has increased by 15%,
then it is time to clean the RO membranes. If the
normalized permeate flow has decreased by 15% then it is
also time to clean the RO membranes. One can either
clean the RO membranes in place or have them removed
from the RO system and cleaned off site by a service
company that specializes in this service. It has been
proven that offsite membrane cleaning is more effective at
providing a better cleaning than onsite cleaning skids.
Ro membrane cleaning involves low and high pH cleaners
to remove contaminants from the membrane. Scaling is
addressed with low pH cleaners and organics, colloidal and
biofouling are treated with a high pH cleaner.

OUR OWN IDEA FOR FREE RO DRINKING

WATER
We wish to make a bench which
could collect rain water through a hole
seat which could be covered at time when it doesnt rains.
This hole seat will be pushed inside (just like a syringe) when 4-6 person
sits on this seat, creating a pressure which could be used to pass the
water through ro membrane, the permeate could be used for drinking.
Its an eco friendly setup as it doesnt uses any electrical energy to create
pressure.
If implemented this machine will help everybody get pure drinking water
for free, what they need to do is just make some people sit on it.

THANK YOU