UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY LAHORE, KSK CAMPUS

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REVERSE OSMOSIS
To
The Chairman
Department of Chemical Engineering
And Technology UET Lahore

Subject: Grant of revenues to purchase Reverse Osmosis Equipment
Respected Sir,
It is being brought into your attention that Chemical Engineering Department is
lacking Reverse Osmosis Equipment which is very important for the education of
Chemical Engineering Students. By this equipment students will be able to learn
about effect of different membranes, and other factors like temperature, pressure,
flow rate etc. on Reverse Osmosis. It is widely being used in industry for water
purification. It is a modern, clean and economic technology and every industry is
adopting it. So to keep students upto date with the industry we are in intense need
of this equipment. Kindly grant us revenues to purchase this valuable equipment
we shall be very thankful to you for this kind favor.
Regards


UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY LAHORE, KSK CAMPUS
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REVERSE OSMOSIS
WATER PURIFICATION BY REVERSE OSMOSIS
OBJECTIVES:
The objective of this Laboratory Equipment is to evaluate the performance of various
membranes when used for reverse osmosis (RO) applications. The impact of operating
conditions such as solute concentration, pressure, flow rate, and temperature on separation
efficiency will be examined. This experiment combines several aspects of fluid mechanics and
mass transport, illustrating how flow conditions impact mass transport through the membrane.
Ultimately, students will be able to determine which process the provided membranes are best-
suited for, as well as optimal operating conditions for each process.
INTRODUCTION:
There are a number of methods of water treatment, for example, media filtration, activated
carbon filtration, water softening, and de-ionization. These methods of water treatment remove
one impurity or a selected group of impurities from contaminated water. Unfortunately, water
being a universal solvent, it seldom contains only one or a selected group of impurities. Typical
natural water contains dozens of impurities from natural sources.
The term water purification refers to a process, which selectively extracts pure water from an
impure solution, leaving all kinds of impurities behind, regardless of their source or their nature.
This is quite different than water treatment described above.
[1]

Reverse Osmosis is a water purification technique that reduces the quantity of dissolved solids
in solution. It was first developed in the 1950's by the US government to provide fresh drinking
water for the Navy, and since then, advances have made it much more feasible for obtaining
purified water from wastewaters produced in many industrial applications.
[2]


There are only three scientifically recognized methods of water purification. These are:
Distillation, freeze-thawing, and reverse osmosis ("RO"). Of these, reverse osmosis offers the
most practical and economical approach to water purification. The equipment is compact, easy to
operate, and it is highly energy-efficient, in comparison with distillation and freeze-thawing
equipment. Whether your goal is to upgrade municipal water for medical treatment or to
desalinate sea water for municipal uses, reverse osmosis is the process of choice.
[1]


UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY LAHORE, KSK CAMPUS
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REVERSE OSMOSIS
REVERSE OSMOSIS PRINCIPLE:
In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pressure, a colligative
property that is driven by chemical potential, a thermodynamic parameter. Reverse osmosis can
remove many types of molecules and ions from solutions, and is used in both industrial processes
and the production of potable water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized
side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be "selective",
this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through the pores (holes), but should
allow smaller components of the solution (such as the solvent) to pass freely.
DI FFERENCE BETWEEN OSMOSI S AND REVERSE OSMOSI S:
Osmosis is a natural phenomenon which can be defined as the movement of pure water through
a semi permeable membrane from a low to a high concentration solution (see Figure 1). The
membrane is permeable to water and some ions but rejects almost all ions and dissolved solids.
This process (movement of water) occurs until the osmotic equilibrium is reached, or until the
chemical potential is equal on both sides of the membrane.
A difference of height is observed between both compartments when the chemical potential is
equalized. The difference in height expresses the osmotic pressure difference between the two
solutions.
Reverse osmosis is a process which occurs when pressure, greater than the osmotic pressure, is
applied to the concentrated solution. Water is forced to flow from the concentrated to the diluted side
and solutes are retained by the membrane (see Figure 1).
UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY LAHORE, KSK CAMPUS
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REVERSE OSMOSIS

Figure 1: REVERSE OSMOSIS OPERATING PRINCIPLE
RO MEMBRANE:
RO membranes can be supplied in both flat sheet and HFF (Hollow Fine Fiber) structural
formats. The flat sheet RO membrane is composed of three layers. There is a nonwoven
polyester support layer, a polysulfone layer, and on top the polyamide barrier layer. The barrier
layer is formed by the polyamide layer.
APPLICATIONS:
Reverse Osmosis has tones of applications in almost all industries because of its ease and no use
of chemicals and reduced manpower. Some of the applications are given as:
Drinking Water Purification
Humidification
Ice-Making
Biomedical Applications
Laboratory Applications
Pharmaceutical Production
Kidney Dialysis
Water used in chemical processes
Boiler Water

UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY LAHORE, KSK CAMPUS
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REVERSE OSMOSIS
REFERENCES:
1. http://www.bluspr.com/reverse_osmosis_introduction.html
2. http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/MISC/biotreat/reverseo.html