RO Membrane, or reverse osmosis membrane, is a shining pearl in modern water treatment technology. RO, the full name of Reverse Osmosis Membrane, shines in many fields such as seawater desalination, drinking water purification, and industrial wastewater treatment with its unique separation principle and performance.
The core of reverse osmosis membrane technology lies in the reverse osmosis principle. Under natural conditions, the flow direction of water is from low-concentration areas to high-concentration areas. When sufficient pressure is applied to water, the flow direction of water will be reversed, that is, from high-concentration areas to low-concentration areas. This process is reverse osmosis. The pore size of the RO membrane is extremely small, only one-millionth of a hair (0.0001 microns), which can effectively block impurities such as bacteria and viruses, and only allow water molecules and some mineral ions that are beneficial to the human body to pass through, while other impurities and heavy metals are discharged.
RO reverse osmosis membranes are generally made of polymer materials, such as cellulose acetate membranes, aromatic polyhydrazide membranes, aromatic polyamide membranes, etc. These materials not only have good chemical stability, but also have mechanical strength and service life. The ideal RO membrane should have the following characteristics: high desalination rate, high mechanical strength, low operating pressure, tolerance to chemical or biochemical effects, less affected by pH and temperature, and easy to obtain and low-cost raw materials for membrane making.
In particular, the emergence of composite membranes marks a major leap in RO membrane technology. Composite membranes are composed of ultra-thin reverse osmosis membranes, porous support layers, and fabric reinforcement layers. They have extremely high water permeability and desalination rate and are ideal reverse osmosis membrane materials.
RO reverse osmosis membranes have a wide range of applications, covering seawater desalination, drinking water purification, pure water preparation, industrial wastewater treatment and many other aspects. In the field of seawater desalination, RO membrane technology is currently one of the most effective and energy-saving technologies, providing valuable freshwater resources for many island countries. In terms of drinking water purification, RO membranes can remove harmful substances in water and ensure people's drinking water safety. In addition, RO membranes also play an important role in pure water preparation, reclaimed water reuse, and printing and dyeing wastewater treatment.
During long-term operation, RO reverse osmosis membranes will be contaminated by pollutants such as suspended matter and insoluble matter in the water, resulting in performance degradation. Regular cleaning and maintenance of RO membranes is essential. When system performance drops by 10% or obvious scaling or fouling occurs, it should be cleaned in time. Cleaning methods include physical cleaning and chemical cleaning, and the specific choice should be based on the type and degree of membrane contamination.