ADARSHA SECONDARY SCHOOL

Chemistry Project File

Topic: Water Purification

Reported By: Reported To:

Ujjwal Pokhrel Mr. Sashi Chaudhari
 Acknowledgement
First of all, I'd like to thank Mr. Sashi Chaudhari for providing
us with a project work for chemistry. Chemistry is a
subdiscipline of science that deals with the properties,
composition, and structure of elements and compounds, how
they can change, and the energy that is released or absorbed
when they change.

With the help of the project we were assigned, we got to

learn many things about the purification of water, Its working
mechanism, brief definition on Reverse Osmosis; the major
principle of water purification.

I'd like to thank every member of the team for cooperating

with the project.

____________________

Sign of the Teacher

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 CONTENT
TOPIC Pg. no
1. Reverse Osmosis 3
2. Introduction to Reverse Osmosis 4
3. Reverse Osmosis Principle 5
4. Reverse Osmosis Process 6
5. Working mechanism of Reverse Osmosis 7
6. Stages in Reverse Osmosis 8
7. Sediment and Carbon Pre-Filter 9
8. Reverse Osmosis Membrane 10
10. Post Carbon Filter 10
11. Benefits and Advantages of Reverse Osmosis 11
12. Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis 12
13. FAQ 13
14. Bibliography 15

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REVERSE OSMOSIS (Water Purification Process)

The process of movement of solvent through a semipermeable

membrane from the solution to the pure solvent by applying
excess pressure on the solution side is called reverse osmosis.

Reverse osmosis is a membrane treatment process primarily

used to separate dissolved solutes from water. Reverse osmosis
is most commonly known for its use in drinking water
purification, particularly with regard to removing salt and other
effluent materials from water molecules.

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 Introduction to Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis is one of the oldest and most popular
separation techniques used mainly for the purification of
water. The process was mainly adopted for the desalination of
seawater in the year 1950 when the whole process was
relatively slow and limited to certain laboratories. However,
after a lot of research and advancements in technology, there
were significant developments, especially in the field of
polymers and the production of efficient membranes.

Today, this technique is extensively used by many around the

world to purify water for industrial, residential, commercial and
scientific purposes. While reverse osmosis technology is one of
humanity’s important scientific innovations, we will develop a
basic understanding of the whole process here on this project.

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 Reverse Osmosis Principle

To break down the process further, due to the presence of a

membrane, large molecules of the solute are not able to cross
through it and they remain on the pressurized side. The pure
solvent, on the other hand, is allowed to pass through the
membrane. When this happens the molecules of the solute
start becoming concentrated on one side while the other side
of the membrane becomes dilute. Furthermore, the levels of
solutions also change to some degree. In essence, reverse
osmosis takes place when the solvent passes through the
membrane against the concentration gradient. It basically
moves from a higher concentration to a lower concentration.

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 Reverse Osmosis Process

Osmotic pressure is the minimum pressure required to stop

solvent flow through the semipermeable membrane.
Therefore, when the solution side (the side where the solute
concentration is high) is subjected to a pressure greater than
the osmotic pressure, the solvent particles on the solution side
move through the semipermeable membrane to the region
where the solute concentration is low. Such inverse solvent
movement through the semipermeable membrane is called
reverse osmosis.

It is important to note that the pressure applied to the solution

side must be higher than the osmotic pressure for the reverse
osmosis process to proceed. Osmotic pressure is a colligative
property, which depends on the concentration of the solution.
In water purification, the reverse osmosis process is very
important. Many water purifiers used today use reverse
osmosis in the purification process as one of the steps.

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 How does Reverse Osmosis work?

An easy experiment can be conducted by taking some

freshwater and a concentrated aqueous solution. The solutions
should be kept on opposite sides with a semipermeable
membrane placed in between to separate the two solutions.
Pressure should be applied on the side with the concentrated
solution. Now this will result in water molecules moving
through the membrane to the freshwater side. This basically
sums up the process of reverse osmosis

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 Stages in Reverse Osmosis System

Below is a simplified and exploded diagram of a typical 4-stage

reverse osmosis system. The stages have been numbered and
the arrows show the directional flow of the water as it moves
through the system. A larger diagram of the membrane is
featured at the bottom to show its many layers, the component
of the system that makes it a ‘reverse osmosis’ system.

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 Sediment Pre-Filter
Melt Blown Polypropylene removes dirt, rust and sediment
particles down to 5 microns. There are several different types
of sediment cartridges. Pleated filters feature increased surface
area and longer life. These cartridges are washable and
reusable. Melt blown polypropylene filters are designed for the
removal of dirt, rust and sediment from water. 5 and 20
microns are the most popular sizes for drinking water
applications. String wound filters are an inexpensive solution to
your filtration needs. These cartridges come in a variety of
media types and have a wide range of applications.

Carbon Pre-Filter
Coconut Shell Carbon Block Cartridge(s), 10 Micron removes
chlorine, taste, odor and chemical contaminants. Activated
carbon block filters typically have a 0.5 to 10 microns filtration
capability, making it also helpful for particulate filtration,
removing taste and odor from chlorine, insoluble lead
reduction, and demonstrating, in some cases, removal of
Giardia and Cryptosporidium. A 5-stage reverse osmosis system
has a third housing to hold an additional carbon block cartridge.

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 Reverse Osmosis Membrane
Thin Film Composite (TFC) rejects (removes) 95% of Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS) down to .0001 Microns. Thin film
composite membranes (TFC or TFM) are semi permeable
membranes manufactured principally for use in water
purification or water desalination systems. They also have use
in chemical applications such as batteries and fuel cells.

Post Carbon Filter

Coconut Shell Activated Carbon is the final polishing filter after
storage tank, just before you use the water. Inline post filters
typically clip onto the top of a reverse osmosis system’s
membrane housing. The post filter removes any chlorine or
contaminants missed by the other cartridges or membrane.

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 Benefits of Reverse Osmosis
Some of the benefits of reverse osmosis are discussed below.
 This process can be used to effectively remove many types
of dissolved and suspended chemical particles as well as
biological entities (like bacteria) from the water
 This technique has a wide application in treating liquid
wastes or discharges.
 It is used in purifying water to prevent diseases
 It helps in desalinating seawater
 It is beneficial in the medical field.

Advantages of Reverse
Osmosis Reverse Osmosis has several advantages, including the
following:
 Bacteria, viruses and pyrogen materials are rejected by the
intact membrane. In this respect, RO water approaches
distilled water in quality.
 Available units are relatively compact and require little
space. They are well suited to home dialysis.
 In average use, the membrane has a life of a little more
than one to two years before replacement is necessary.
 Periodic complete sterilization of the RO system with
formalin or other sterilant is practical.

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 Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis

The disadvantages of RO systems include the following:

 Cellulose acetate membranes have limited pH tolerance.
They degrade at temperatures greater than 350C. They are
vulnerable to bacteria. They eventually hydrolyze
 Polyamide membranes are intolerant of temperatures
greater than 350C. They have poor tolerance for free
chlorine.
 Thin-film composites are intolerant of chlorine. High flux
polysulfone water to function properly.

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 Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How does reverse osmosis work?
 Reverse Osmosis works by using a high-pressure pump
to increase the pressure on the salt side of the RO and
force the water across the semipermeable RO
membrane, leaving almost all (around 95 to 99 %)
dissolved salts in the reject stream behind.

Q2. What is an example of the use of reverse osmosis?

 Reverse osmosis is a means of pulling clean water out of
polluted water or salt water by pushing water through a
membrane under pressure. An example of reverse
osmosis is the process by which contaminated water is
filtered under pressure.

Q3. What are the disadvantages of reverse osmosis?

 The drawback of RO water is that it can significantly
reduce the good minerals which can help in the overall
health of the heart and muscles. Those who use reverse
osmosis as their primary source of water may suffer
from side effects such as tiredness, muscle cramps,
general weakness and cardiovascular disorders in severe
cases.

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Q4. What are osmosis and reverse osmosis?
 Osmosis is a process in which liquid water flows through
a semipermeable membrane from a diluted solution
into a more concentrated solution. The process of
movement of solvent through a semipermeable
membrane from the solution to the pure solvent by
applying excess pressure on the solution side is called
reverse osmosis.

Q5 What is the principle of reverse osmosis?

 Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process
that removes ions, unwanted molecules and larger
particles from drinking water using a partially
permeable membrane. As a result, the solute is kept on
the membrane’s pressurized side and the pure solvent is
allowed to pass to the other side.

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 Bibliography
 Wikipedia.com
 Byju’s.com
 Seminarsonly.com
 Wikihow.com
 Leverageedu.com
 Portlandtribune.com
 Scribd.com

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