The Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane is a critical component of a water filtration system, particularly in RO systems. Its primary function is to remove a wide range of contaminants from water by forcing it through a semi-permeable membrane under pressure. Here’s a detailed look at its function:

Function of the RO Membrane

1. Removes Dissolved Solids:
   • The RO membrane filters out dissolved salts, minerals, and other solids that are too small to be captured by other filters. This includes substances like calcium, magnesium, sodium, and heavy metals (e.g., lead, arsenic, and mercury).
2. Filters Tiny Contaminants:
   • The membrane has tiny pores (approximately 0.0001 microns in size) that block microscopic impurities, including:
     • Viruses
     • Bacteria
     • Pesticides
     • Fluoride
     • Nitrates

3. Improves Water Taste and Quality:
   • By removing contaminants that contribute to bad taste, odors, or cloudiness, the RO membrane provides clean, fresh-tasting water.
4. Reduces Total Dissolved Solids (TDS):
   • The membrane is effective at lowering the TDS level in water, which is a measure of all dissolved substances.
5. Requires High Pressure:
   • The RO process works by applying pressure to push water molecules through the membrane while leaving impurities behind in the reject water (wastewater).
6. Produces Two Outputs:
   • Permeate Water: The purified water that passes through the membrane.
   • Reject Water: The wastewater containing concentrated impurities that is discarded through a drain.

Advantages of RO Membrane

• High efficiency in purifying water.
• Effective against a broad range of contaminants.
• Produces water suitable for drinking and cooking.

Maintenance

• The RO membrane typically requires replacement every 2–3 years, depending on water quality and usage.
• Proper pre-filtration (e.g., sediment and carbon filters) is essential to protect the RO membrane from clogging or damage.

Read here how an RO membrane effectively removes excess TDS, Heavy Metals, and Chemicals to give safe and purified water.

There are many water purifiers out in the market for people to choose from. Important is to first understand the type of water that is supplied to your home. Hard water or water with high TDS is much more difficult to purify than soft water as it has many dissolved solids, chemicals, and other contaminants. To treat such water, you need an RO (Reverse Osmosis) purification technology.

An RO water purifier has various filters that eliminate different types of impurities found in tap water through multiple stages of filtration. The most important of these filters is the RO membrane. This membrane is a thin, semi-permeable layer that has minute pores on it to allow only pure water to pass through it. The impure water on the other hand is released out of the water purifier as reject water.

The input water is pushed through the RO membrane with a very high pressure. This high pressure ensures that only purified water passes through the membrane. Thus, leaving behind various impurities, salts, heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, and microbial contaminants on its surface.

A RO membrane plays an important role in the water purification. Let’s read about these in detail:

1. Sweetens the taste of water by removing excess TDS

Total dissolved solids (TDS) include a concentrated level of particles such as inorganic salts and compounds in the water. The presence of TDS in water alters its taste and makes it saltier. An RO water purifier brings down the TDS in water by 90%, improving the taste of water and making it sweeter.

2. Removes harmful chemicals and disease-causing impurities

Harmful contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and heavy metals may be naturally present in the water and drastically affect one’s health. These impurities can lead to various water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, etc. Hence, to avoid such illnesses, one must make sure that the water consumed is 100% safe and purified.

3. Suitable to purify water from all sources

RO is one of the most sophisticated water purification technologies. Whether your source of water is Ground Water/Borewell, Tank, or Municipal, a Pureit RO water purifier guarantees 100% safe and pure drinking water. While a UV or MF water purifier is recommended when the source of water is comparatively clean i.e. municipal or has less TDS, a Pureit RO water purifier is effective in treating water from all kinds of sources.

Today, the modern RO water purifiers come with many more features. For instance, Pureit has introduced Pureit Copper+ Mineral RO+UV+MF that includes 7 stages RO+UV+MF purification process with a unique Copper Charge Technology™ that charges RO purified with the goodness of copper. The new range of RO water purifiers also come with the benefit of Mineral Enrichment. This ensures essential minerals like Calcium and Magnesium are added back to RO purified water. Explore the exciting range of Pureit RO water purifiers.