Industrial Water Treatment

Carbonate deposits are found in rocks, in water and even on Mars. These are harmful for various reasons and can be dangerous if not treated for human and industrial consumption. River water contains 46-48% bicarbonate ions. Water hardness refers to calcium carbonate molecules that form a lime scale deposit in water pipes, faucets, and reservoirs. Inside a boiler scale is formed due to this water hardness. These hardness salts have to be removed to prevent overheating and boiler explosion due to tube failure. Scale in boilers can also impact energy costs and reduce efficiency.

An effective way to get rid of water alkalinity is de-alkalization which reduces the hardness and the bicarbonate content of the water, thus reducing the salt content in the water by about 75%. De-alkalization removes hardness salts from water used in boilers.

A de-carbonator is used for removing carbons. It has an inlet and an out let. Water to be purified passes through the inlet of the forced draft de-carbonator, the forced draft de-carbonator provides an initial reduction in the level of carbon dioxide in the water while the vacuum de-gasifier provides a further reduction in carbon dioxide level as the water is processed.

Dissolved solids in the water can also be removed using chemicals, osmosis, reverse osmosis. The water treatment methods rely on your water utilization, and the best thing to do is look up a water purification specialist in the field.

Reverse Osmosis And How Does It Work

One of the greatest dilemmas in the U.S. is the chlorine contents present in the drinking water. If your tap water comes from a local water treatment facilities, if you pay water bill, then chlorine is your biggest problem. There are more then 2000 chemicals in our tap water. Any of them could be cause health complications. Several companies offer whole house reverse osmosis as a solution to the water problems.

RO or reverse osmosis is a process of purifying water or other liquids such as fruit juices by passing them through a semi permeable membrane that filters out unnecessary substances. In reverse osmosis, water, under high pressure is enforced through a membrane. The membrane entraps dirt, mud and debris. Many public facilities use reverse osmosis as one-step in their water treatments. In rural areas, where water comes from a river or even an ocean, whole house reverse osmosis can be used to make water suitable for kitchen use.

For most of us, our tap water is already "suitable" for kitchen use. It is just not that safe. One of the big problems is that water treatment services add chlorine to the water to protect the membrane in reverse osmosis systems from rot.

Chlorine is basically a disinfectant. It is really just bleach. It kills living organisms that can grow on a reverse osmosis membrane. So, logically, the membrane does not filter out the chlorine.
If your question is how does reverse osmosis work to filter chemicals out of the water, the answer is that it does not. The "holes" in the membrane are simply not small enough to trap chemicals, such as chlorine. So, if someone is trying to sell you a whole house reverse osmosis system and your water comes from a water treatment facility, do not buy it.

A whole house reverse osmosis system is a waste of money for most people. And, even for those who need one, it is a waste of water. For every one gallon of water that is filtered, about five gallons are wasted.

Another disadvantage to a whole house reverse osmosis system is that it removes minerals from the water. We need those trace minerals. They are good for our health. Certain industries need de-mineralized water and that was one reason the system was originally designed. It was not designed as a solution for people to have cleaner, better tasting drinking water.
If you want better drinking water, you want a multi-stage filter that includes a carbon activated filter. That is the bottom line.

Hopefully, this information answers your questions about how does reverse osmosis work.