Reverse Osmosis, also known as Ultra-Filtration by the industry, represents state-of-the-art in water treatment technology. Reverse Osmosis (RO) was developed in the late 1950's under U.S. Government funding, as a method of desalinating sea water. Today, reverse osmosis has earn its name as the most convenient and thorough method to filter water. It is used by most water bottling plants, and by many industries that require ultra-refined water in manufacturing. Now this advanced technology is available to homes and offices for drinking water filtration.

How It Works

In short, it is the process by which water molecules are forced through a 0.0001 micron semi-permeable membrane by water pressure. Long sheets of the membrane are ingeniously sandwiched together and rolled up around a hollow central tube in a spiral fashion. This rolled-up configuration is commonly referred to as a spiral wound membrane or module. They are available in different sizes for processing different quantities of water. Typically, a module for home water treatment is as small as 2" diameter and 10" long, while one for industrial use may be 4" diameter and 40" long.

For the membrane to be usable it must be in some type of container (membrane housing) so pressure can be maintained on its surface. It is this pressure that supplies the energy to force the water through the membrane, separating it from unwanted substances. The most amazing aspect of RO is that the substances left behind are automatically diverted to a waste drain so they don't build up in the system as with conventional filtering devices. This is accomplished by using a part of the unprocessed water (feed water) to carry away the rejected substances to the drain, thus keeping the membrane clean. This is the reason to why RO membranes can last so long and perform like new with minimum maintenance even after years of operation.