RO Full Form

RO Full Form: The abbreviation RO stands for Reverse Osmosis. It is the process of water filtration, where a porous membrane is used to filter water such that the impurities stay behind, and clear water moves ahead. In daily life, it is widely used to purify drinking water to remove dissolved solutes from it.

What is Osmosis?

The movement of solvent from a region with high solute concentration to a region with low solute concentration through a semi-permeable membrane until the concentration of solute becomes the same on both sides is called Osmosis.

Osmosis is a significant process for the transport, release, and exchange of various substances in the human body as well as in plants. A real-life example of osmosis is the swelling of raisins when kept in water overnight.

What is Reverse Osmosis?

The movement of a solvent through a semi-permeable membrane in order to remove dissolved or suspended solute particles from it is called reverse osmosis. This is achieved with the help of additional force that makes the water go through the membrane, leaving behind all impurities.

With the help of reverse osmosis, water is made fit for drinking by removing contaminants like salts, metals, viruses, and other harmful elements from it.

Difference Between Osmosis and Reverse Osmosis:

Reverse Osmosis is different from Osmosis in the way that osmosis takes place naturally from a higher concentration to a lower concentration of solute until it becomes the same on both sides. However, in the case of reverse osmosis, the natural flow is reversed with the help of an external force. This external force, unlike in the process of osmosis, is greater than the osmotic pressure, thus making the water go through the semi-permeable membrane and leaving behind all the impurities.

History of Reverse Osmosis:

In 1748, Jean-Antoine Nollet observed the process of osmosis via porous membranes for the first time. Later, in the 1950s, that is after around 200 years of discovery of the process, the UCLA university studied about osmotic desalination. However, the result obtained was not economically feasible.

Following up next, Sidney Loeb and Srinivasa Sourirajan devised a technique that used a thin skin like layer for the process. Further enhancements were made to this and to this day, all commercial membranes are made like this.

With the help of this advancement, Florida became the first US state to use RO at a big scale.

Principle of Reverse Osmosis:

The principle of reverse osmosis is backed up by two processes – selective permeability and external pressure. The external pressure overcomes the osmotic pressure and makes the water flow in opposite directions while the use of a semi-permeable membrane allows the separation of water from contaminants.

Process of Reverse Osmosis:

The various steps involved in reverse osmosis are as follows-

1. Pre-treatment – The reverse osmosis membrane will be more efficient if the obvious impurities can be removed from the water beforehand. As an example, larger impurities like sediments are removed using methods like filtration.
2. Pressure – The osmotic pressure is then overcome by applying an external pressure to reverse the natural flow of water and make it pass through a semi-permeable membrane.
3. Separation of the two streams – Once the water passes the semi-permeable membrane, two streams are formed. One is the stream of purified water which is also called as the permeate. The other stream is that of the impurities, known as the brine or concentrate. Since, the brine is of no use, it is just flushed away.
4. Post-treatment – Since RO purification also removes the necessary minerals from water, it is later re-mineralized again.

Applications of Reverse Osmosis:

Reverse Osmosis is useful in a number of places. Some of these include-

1. The primary use of RO is in the purification of drinking water. This purified water is not just used commercially, but in homes as well because the RO water purifiers are easy to use and install at homes at reasonable prices.
2. In regions with more seawater, reverse osmosis is used to remove salt from it to make it usable at such places. This process is called desalination.
3. Reverse Osmosis also finds use in Pisciculture by providing purified water that is safe for aquatic animals.
4. Some industries, especially the ones related to pharma, food, and chemicals, require the use of purified water. This is also achieved with the help of RO purification systems.
5. Reverse Osmosis is also an important part of the wastewater treatment system.