559-10 Reverse Osmosis
Learning objectives
- Explain the purpose and basic operation of reverse osmosis (RO) technology
- Describe the principles of osmosis and osmotic pressure as they apply to RO systems
- Identify the main components of reverse osmosis systems, including membranes, vessels, and pumps
- Describe how spiral wound membranes are constructed and how they separate permeate and concentrate from feedwater
- Explain the flow of water through a reverse osmosis system from intake through post-treatment
- Describe the purpose of pretreatment, post-treatment, and energy recovery systems
- Calculate permeate recovery percentage and identify factors that affect system performance
Course overview
Desalination is the process of separating freshwater from the dissolved salts and minerals in a saline water source, such as seaweed or brackish water. Both membrane and desalination technologies exist. Reverse osmosis (RO) is a commonly employed membrane technology used in industrial desalination facilities. Other processes and devices, such as pretreatment, post-treatment, and energy recovery systems, are used with the RO system to complete the separation of freshwater from seawater. The Reverse Osmosis training course discusses the scientific principles on which RO technology is based. It explains the primary function of an RO desalination system. This online training course identifies the key components of a typical RO system, with an emphasis on membrane technology. It also highlights the importance of permeate recovery percentage. Reverse Osmosis is part of the Water Treatment training series.
The individuals involved in the development and promotion of this course do not receive any compensation or financial benefits outside of their regular employment for their work on this course.
