Reverse Osmosis
What is Reverse Osmosis?
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a process where water is cleaned by forcing water through an ultra-fine semi-permeable membrane which allows only the water to pass though and retains the contaminants (usually salt and other impurities). Quality reverse osmosis systems use a process known as cross flow to allow the membrane to continually clean itself.
How is it used?
Reverse osmosis (RO) water processors are ideal for water purification in various locations. To work effectively, the water feeding to these units should best be under some pressure (40psi or over is the norm). RO water processors can be used by people who live in rural areas without clean water, far away from the city’s water pipes. Some travelers on long boating trips, fishing, island camping, or in countries where the local water supply is polluted or substandard, use RO water processors coupled with one or more UV sterilizers. One of the disadvantages of RO is that a system may require from 3 to 10 gallons of untreated water to make a single gallon of purified water.
How much Maintenance is Required?
Most RO systems are designed to undergo a one hour cleaning cycle every month. The frequency of cleaning is reduced when softening is done as a pretreatment. The membranes of a RO system typically last between 3 and 5 years and they rarely fail all at once. They usually start leaking more and more ions until an unacceptable is reached in the drinking water.
Cost of Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis purifiers cost beteween $200 and $1300. Critics argue that the $1300 system comes with unnecessary features while the $200 is a little basic for most uses. Therefore, expect to spend between $400 and $500 for a quality reverse osmosis system.
Source: http://www.remco.com/ro_quest.htm
