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The Essentials of Reverse Osmosis

Back To Basics

February

2019

Reverse osmosis (RO) is used throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). Review the basics to understand best practices for troubleshooting, monitoring, and cleaning.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a desalination technique that was first applied commercially in the early 1960s. RO is used today to produce everything from drinking water and boiler feedwater, to ultrapure water for the pharmaceutical and microelectronics industries, as well as for advanced wastewater recovery and recycle.

While RO is now relatively commonplace, the technology is still a bit of a mystery to many. Understanding the technology is critical to keeping an RO system operating effectively at minimal cost. This article covers the basics of the technology and provides guidance on troubleshooting performance issues, cleaning, and more.

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