RO membrane (DOW – USA)

Learn about RO filters used in water purifiers

RO membranes consist of many thin layers with extremely small mesh sizes, so they are applied in many fields such as medicine, space science, military.... For water filtration technology, RO membranes have The role of filtering out mud, impurities, and toxic substances in water such as lead, arsenic, chlorine, as well as bacteria including brain-eating amide bacteria.

Currently, RO filters are used for water purifiers from small capacity for home use to large capacity purifiers in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools....

Operating principle of RO filter membrane in water purifier

The RO membrane is made up of filter membrane clusters. Each of these filter clusters will include a water conducting membrane, reverse osmosis membrane and feed water membrane. These membranes are wrapped around the plastic filter core in a spiral shape (called the RO filter core). Normally, the water flow will flow in the opposite direction, with RO technology the water flow will be reverse osmosis.

With a home water purifier, the water pump draws water directly from the tap water supplied to the family or water tank. The huge pressure created from the water pump will guide the water in a spiral. The water molecules are small in size so they can flow through. These extremely thin RO membranes work to prevent sediment. dirt, organic substances such as chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, bacteria, viruses... because their mass is larger than water molecules and also larger than the filter pores of the RO membrane (0 .0001 micrometer) so it cannot go out through these filter holes. So they will be pushed out another way. Thanks to that, clean water, up to 99.9% pure, is created and can be drunk directly.

The role of RO membrane 

Water purifiers using RO technology are becoming increasingly popular thanks to its great effects:

• Currently, there are many types of bottled water on the market but it is difficult to control the quality. With a water purifier that uses RO membranes, users can safely use water without having to go through the cooking process, thus saving money on electricity and the cost of buying bottled water.
• One of the most dangerous bacteria in water is brain-eating amide bacteria. With the technology of using RO membranes, users can use it with peace of mind because this type of bacteria has also been eliminated. 
• Through the Ro filter, toxic substances and dirt have been removed, creating pure drinking water. Human health is guaranteed and improved when using clean water sources.

Disadvantages of RO filter membrane

Besides the values ​​that RO filter membrane brings, it also has certain disadvantages:

• To produce pure water, the amount of water discharged must be equivalent. In places where water is heavily polluted, the amount of water discharged is greater than the amount of pure water collected. 

• The blocking of dirty and toxic substances means that minerals in the water such as fluoride, zinc, iodine... are also retained. Minerals are essential for humans, they help maintain the development of the skeletal system, nervous system, and fight fatigue. 

These disadvantages are researched and overcome by water purifier manufacturers by adding filter columns containing minerals to compensate for lost minerals. With the amount of water discharged, users can retain it for watering plants or for other family activities.