Water Purification Process & Use of Reverse Osmosis
Why water purification?
Water purification is needed to remove unwanted germs, bacteria, and heavy metals like lead, mercury, and other pollutants that are present in water. The contaminants can be removed by various processes and techniques to obtain purified water which is safe for drinking and other purposes. Hence, a purifier is needed for the water to be purified properly.
The main purpose of water purification is to obtain clean drinking water. In addition to this water, purification is also important to meet the medical, chemical, industrial, pharmacological applications which require portable and clean water. By purifying, it removes or reduces the high-level concentration of impurities which includes parasites, bacteria, suspended particles, viruses, fungi, and algae.
Different processes of Water purification:
Some of the processes include:
- Boiling
The easiest and the most common method especially in rural areas is the process of boiling. The water is boiled for quite an amount of time where high temperatures dissipate viruses and bacteria and remove all impurities.
- Water Chlorination
This is one of the oldest techniques which is generally used in case of emergency, where one adds a mild bleach-containing approximately 5% chlorine to the water. The chlorine kills the microorganismsmaking it safe for consumption where it acts as an oxidant.
- Distillation
Another is the distillation processwhich involves evaporation of water and the condensed water is then collected which is contaminants free. This, however, is not efficient as an RO which will be discussed later as it is time-consuming.
- Solar Purification
It involves treating water with the sun’sUV radiation.This process kills viruses and bacteria and present in the water.
- Clay Vessel Filtration
These are usually used way before one has access to a UV or RO Purifier. Here, one used clay pots which helps in purifying muddy water which blocks the mud and allows pure water to seep through.
- Reverse Osmosis
Out of all the purification techniques, most individuals trust the RO Filtration system. This system uses a RO UV water purifier for their need for drinking water.This, however, has proven to be one of the best methods in water purification. In this method, the water is forced through a semipermeable membrane which removes the water contaminants.
More about Reverse Osmosis:
Reverse osmosis or RO as discussed is one of the best water purification processes that make use of a membrane that is semi-permeable for the separation of ions, larger particles, and other unwanted molecules or contaminates for water.
In reverse osmosis, there is an applied pressure that is needed to overcome the osmotic pressure, which is nothing by a property caused by potential differences between solvents.
In an osmosis process, the solvent of low potential or concentration moves to a solvent of higher concentration or high potential through a given membrane. The force which drives the movement is given as the reduction of the system’s Gibbs free energy where the difference in concentration on both sides reduces. Hence, there is a generation of osmotic pressure. If one applies an external pressure for reversing the pure solvent’s natural flow, then this process is known as reverse osmosis. This process is very similar to other applications involving membranes.
The reverse osmosis process can help in removing various types of contaminants or chemical species either dissolved or suspended. On top of this, it can also remove biological contaminants like viruses and bacteria.Thesolute in this process is retained on one side i.e.,the pressurized side while the pure solvent pass to the other side of the membrane as shown in the figure. The membrane, however, should be “selective” so as not to allow large molecules and ions to pass via the pores.
Benefits of water purification by RO:
- Most effective Water purification system
Water that contains a lot of contaminants can cause health problems of various types ranging from cardiovascular problems, asthma, cancer, and so on. Using this RO UV purifierwill reduce the high risk of such health problems. Hence, quality water is important.
- Cost-Effective
If one purchases the RO purifieritwould be helpful in lowering the amount of money spent to purchase clean water. Even though purchased bottled water can provides one with germs-free water, however, it would be incredibly costly whereas a purifier can be used in the longrun. Also, RO is one of the methods, preferred by many as it is a promising technique.
- Improved flavor
Pure water has a different flavor compared to the impure one. Water not purified affects the taste of water where one might get the taste of metals present or some unpleasant taste. Some purifiers need not the process of boiling.
- It is non-time consuming and convenience
The water purification process is less time-consuming and in case there is a need fora largeamount of this water purification system is handy. This process provides a very simple and easy way to remove germs and saves time in purification. The membrane filter ensures protection against all the impurities that are dangerous to health at the convenience of one’s home.