Reverse osmosis follows the well-known phenomenon of osmosis. Osmosis is the flow of water from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration of dissolved solids. For example, in figure 5, the beaker is full of pure water and the tube is full of a solution with a high concentration of salt water. Separating the two solutions is a semipermeable membrane. The water will continue to transfer from the dilute solution to the more concentrated until the pressure difference from the volume changes or the two sides are equal to the osmotic pressure.
Osmotic pressure is a property particular to the solution and is independent of the membrane.
An example of reverse osmosis occurs when we drink sea water rather than fresh water. Our small intestines are semipermeable membranes which have a low concentration when we drink fresh water. Osmosis allows water to flow freely from our intestines to our bloodstream, from low concentration to high concentration to hydrate our bodies. Please Notify Us if you experience any trouble throughout our website.