Clean Drinking Water: Reverse Osmosis

Here is a fun fact for you. Did you know that in a dialysis center there is a Reverse Osmosis System that cleans the water before the water goes to the treatment floor? It is much bigger than the home Reverse Osmosis water drinking system but it still works the same way. This was something that I was not aware of when I was on dialysis until a CCHT (Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician) told me that there was a water treatment system in the clinic. This was fascinating to me as I never thought that you would need water to run dialysis.

Any how I will be sharing with you some more information about the different ways to treat water. In this blog I will be sharing some information about a Reverse Osmosis system. Now you may have seen these your local hardware or big box store but how do they work and are they worth your investment? These are great questions and I hope this next portion will give you the answers to these questions.

Please note that this portion of the blog was written by: Robert and Jack Slovak and Lyle Hartman.

How does a Reverse Osmosis Drinking water appliance work?

Reverse Osmosis, or RO for short, is the opposite of the natural process by which moisture is taken up through the roots cells of plants. These cells are like small semipermeable membranes which pass water molecules along throughout the plant. This process also takes place throughout our bodies.

In Reverse Osmosis, water is intentionally forced against a synthetic membrane using normal city or well water pressure. Only molecules of water dissolved in the unique membrane material and diffuse through it forming pure water on the opposite side. Impurities do not dissolve in the membrane and are left behind to be rinsed away to a waste drain.

Who invented or developed Reverse Osmosis?

The potential of Reverse Osmosis was first realized by research scientist Sourirajin at UCLA in the early 1950’s. The process showed so much promise for desalinating sea water that a long research and development program, involving major corporations, was founded by the U.S. Office of Saline Water. After 33 million dollars, the process of Reverse Osmosis became a viable technology and is considered the latest and most advanced of water treatment techniques.