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Reverse Osmosis (RO)

RO – Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis is one of the technologies that have made human life simpler. There is no exaggeration in this statement - if this process had not been discovered and then implemented in various industrial systems, the problem we have today with access to drinking water and water treated for other purposes would be even greater. Many industries would not have a chance to grow.

For all these purposes, where water is needed, it is necessary to use various methods of water treatment – reverse osmosis is unique in this respect.

By employing a membrane filtration process, reverse osmosis allows optimal demineralization of water in an environmentally friendly way. This mechanically uncomplicated filtration is at the same time a revolutionary method that effectively removes almost all harmful substances (RO process is up to 90% efficient).

These harmful substances include rust, asbestos, heavy metals, but also pesticides and organic particles.

Reverse osmosis stations and systems (industrial) differ in some elements (which is determined by requirements and technical capabilities specific to each project).

The most important thing is to build the system with optimum layout and performance, compatible with the needs of a particular entity (including: configuration, materials used to produce system elements, etc.).

Granimex, relying on many years of experience in the field of water treatment for industrial and commercial customers provides access to best solutions, also in the field of RO (including new cutting-edge products).

 

Why reverse osmosis?

Today, the answer to this question is quite obvious: reverse osmosis is effective and uncomplicated. With these features it is bound for success and in business it means large-scale implementation. The beginnings, however, were not that easy.

It all started about two hundred years ago, when the naturally occurring phenomenon of biological osmosis was observed (water is passed through certain materials, i.e. semi-permeable membranes, in one direction). The subject of first scientific observations was a natural organic membrane, e.g. a pig bladder.

These materials, for obvious reasons, could not be used to build any systems based on them, nevertheless this important process was noticed and lived in the memory of scientists, which led to the production of the first artificial membrane in the 19th century. But then, it was not durable or flexible enough to "take the osmosis out of the labs".

However, everybody knew that it was only a matter of time for this process to have a huge impact on life of modern societies.

Finally, the need for efficient desalination of sea water (so in fact: acquisition of new water resources) led to the discovery (in the 1950s) of reverse osmosis. American scientists have shown that osmosis phenomenon can occur in the opposite direction to natural osmosis - and for obvious reasons, it is an effective way to remove all sorts of contaminants from water.

What is reverse osmosis?

This process has been described in detail and there are different definitions of reverse osmosis. To start with, let's take a look at osmosis itself.

This phenomenon occurs in aqueous media when a semi-permeable membrane is used to mechanically separate solutions of different salt concentrations: water from the lower-concentration side passes through the membrane to the higher-concentration side of the solution, leading to a balance of the concentrations at both sides (at the two sides of the membrane placed in the particular "container").

Reverse osmosis occurs when pressure is applied to the solution with the higher concentration of salt (on the side it is in). This procedure reverses the direction of water flow, and it is through this process that the water molecules will pass through the membrane into the part that contains the solution of lower concentration.

To put this phenomenon in a more figurative way, if you put enough pressure to the water on the side with high salt content, the water molecules will pass through the membrane to the other side, and the molecules of salt (or other substances) will stay on the "native" side - the membrane will become to be an impenetrable obstacle for them.

The barrier is the microscopic size of membrane holes. This is the clou of the membrane filtration process ( or rather hyperfiltration - blocking of various suspensions, organic and inorganic on the membrane). To ensure effective filtration, we always select the most suitable membrane for your treatment unit.

Membranes, the secret of successful RO process

Why do membranes show so high efficiency in water filtration? This is achieved primarily through their manufacturing technology which involves magnetization. In this way, the membrane attracts water particles and draws away "unwanted" substances.

That is why, we can be sure that dangerous heavy metals (e.g. mercury, lead, cadmium) and water soluble salts of nitrogen, copper, fluorine, chromium and many other highly toxic compounds will not pass through the membrane holes.

The construction of the membrane also does not allow potentially dangerous molecules to be trapped on its surface. Due to the active stream flushing the membrane, it is not possible for these particles to accumulate.

Granimex offers all kinds of membranes (standard, increased performance and durability). They can be tailored to meet the needs of customers operating in various sectors. We offer many different membrane modules, including modules with improved mechanical and chemical resistance.

Our solutions are designed for laboratory water, process water, heating and cooling water, boiler water, etc.

Reverse osmosis stations have become an absolutely essential element for efficient and safe functioning of companies operating in various industries (chemical, food industry), food and beverage service entities, hospitals or other public buildings.

Our reverse osmosis systems are always engineered to match specific conditions e.g. water quality, degree of contamination and nature of substances to be neutralized, but also the purposes for which the treated water is to be used.

We also offer other solutions that ensure trouble-free operation of reverse osmosis plants e.g. water softening or pre-treatment that protects against larger particles clogging the membranes.

We provide professional service and maintenance for RO plants e.g. safe chemical cleaning of membranes, which has a great impact on the performance of the whole system.

Customers who want to upgrade an existing RO plant can also rely on our team – we add the most suitable, properly matched modules to enhance the efficiency of RO system.

The solutions offered by Granimex are technologically advanced and user-friendly – the plants do not take up too much space and are equipped with high-quality controllers, safety systems and monitoring systems.