Today, the most advanced water purification system is reverse osmosis. Like all such systems, it also has some weaknesses. How is the liquid filtered in such a system? What is reverse osmosis?
Water treatment system
Osmosis is the property of water flowing from a weak saline solution to a concentrated one. And reverse osmosis is a progressive system that works in reverse, with its help, the concentration of s alt in the liquid decreases.
Therefore, at first this type of filtration was used to create fresh water from s alty sea water.
How does a reverse osmosis water treatment system work?
The liquid passes through a special membrane, which is called semi-permeable. Only water, oxygen or smaller molecules can pass through its structure. The membrane does not remove organic chlorine compounds and herbicides from the liquid, because their molecule is smaller than the osmotic membrane. In the osmosis system, water is purified in several stages, let's take a closer look at them.
First stage - preliminarycleaning
This step is very important. Its most expensive replaceable element is a reverse osmosis membrane. The quality of the fluid supplied affects the duration of its service. At this stage, 3 elements are used with replaceable reverse osmosis water purification filters, which prepare water even before it is supplied to the membrane.
The first element has a polypropylene five-micron mechanical cleaning cartridge, which performs an important function, it filters water from undissolved particles larger than 5 microns (helps to get rid of rust, sand and other impurities).
The second filter element contains a cartridge containing granular activated carbon, it allows you to purify water from chlorine, organochlorine compounds, pesticides and herbicides, unpleasant taste and smell.
The third filter element has a cartridge containing pressed charcoal briquettes. It must remove organic compounds, volatile organic substances (tetrachloride, benzene, carbon) and small particles of coal dust from the water that have a detrimental effect on the membrane, they are washed out in the 2nd stage of filtration.
Second stage
At this stage, the water, after preliminary purification, is sent to the membrane, which is the main filter element of the osmosis system, while cleaning the liquid at a deep level, allowing you to get drinking water of the highest quality. In other words,it is a kind of grid, and the size of its cells can be compared with the size of water molecules.
Of course, either liquid particles or substances with a smaller molecular size, such as hydrogen dissolved in water, oxygen, etc., can pass through this “net”
Disadvantages of the cleaning system
Since for the correct functioning (osmosis system) water purification must be carried out under some pressure, and it cannot always be provided by our water supply system, a special pump (pump) may be needed to increase the pressure. In addition to the pump, you will also need to connect the system to electricity - this is also its disadvantage.
Water purification reverse osmosis has advantages over other filter systems, which is the ability to remove 99% of contaminants. But this does not mean the ability of the system membrane to retain all the minerals and s alts that are contained in the water. This means that the water obtained after such purification will be demineralized and therefore cannot be considered beneficial to human he alth. Rather, on the contrary, water, in which s alts and minerals are completely absent, washes out the useful elements it needs from the human body, which can provoke serious diseases. Therefore, the best option is osmosis - water purification. Consumer reviews also speak in favor of this purification system, but there are those who prefer to buy bottled water.
Filtered or bottled?
When choosing between bottled water and reverse osmosis, the secondoption is better. Bottled water is usually filtered using the osmotic method, but the bottles do not always indicate the source or method of purification. Even with detailed testing, it happens that the manufacturer does not give any reasonable explanation about the quality of the liquid contained in the bottle.
In addition, there are often recommendations to pass water through osmosis, water is purified according to the system given above, this improves the taste and enhances the useful properties of the liquid. It turns out more mineralization, and hence the better regulation of the nutritious diet, enabling the minerals and nutrients in the body to be fully replenished.
There is an opinion that the human body cannot regulate the level of s alt and water on its own, purification using the reverse osmosis method does not have much effect on this process.
Next, we will talk about user reviews about the negative aspects of this system and make an analysis that will help us see if the osmosis water filters really have the above disadvantages, or whether they arise in the process of their improper use.
Stagnation of water
Some people have been talking about the bad taste of the water after the extra upper cartridges of the bioceramic base or mineralizer were replaced. But this is not due to the filters themselves and their ability to spoil the water, but to the fact that a person used it incorrectly.filter. Water treatment cartridges hold up to 3 cups of liquid. This water, like the one in the tank, cannot stagnate. To get rid of foreign smell and taste, you need to either use a mineralizer (bioceramic cartridge) daily, or drain a few glasses of liquid.
If all the water after filtering has a strange smell or taste, the liquid does not stagnate in the cartridges, but in the water storage tank. Here, as a rule, the cause of the problem is that the post-carbon cartridge was not replaced on time (and this should be done once a year), or this is due to the incomplete use of the tank (hydroaccumulator) resource. If you are unable to use the entire volume of the filter (tanks have a capacity of 15-12l., 11-8l., 8-6l.), you need to artificially update the water in the tank once a month.
You can turn off the tap in front of the filter and gradually waste excess purified water, or you can collect it in a large container or drain it from the tank into the sewer. If the filter is used by 3-4 people, then it is better to choose the smallest tank (8 liters).
Purified water tends to stagnate, because when using the osmosis system, water is purified to the quality of distilled water. Bacteria can grow in it, and in the absence of a duct, a taste or foreign smell may appear. Long-term storage of the liquid is possible only if antibiotics are added to it, such as are added to pools. They are harmful, and this is the main disadvantage of bottled water, which is alsopurified by reverse osmosis, but it can be stored longer.
Lack of minerals
We are often told that a reverse osmosis filtered liquid is low mineralized. And this is so, leaving reverse osmosis water has 1/3 minerals compared to the input, tap water, but this does not mean that it can harm human he alth.
If you want to saturate purified water with minerals, it is recommended to use a mineralizer.
Low speed purify water
The reverse osmosis water purification system has a low operating speed, it accumulates already purified water - this is a minus of reverse osmosis filters. Here, silver will not help either, since the disinfecting effect that ions of this metal have is not effective enough and there is a danger of silver penetrating into purified water. In general, its particles are very harmful to humans. For example, in the United States it is forbidden to mention disinfectant properties in advertisements for children's food products, in our country there are no such prohibitions.
After weighing all the pros and cons, you just need to make a choice, perhaps it will be a balancing act between different filtering methods. One thing is certain - water purification is necessary and vital in modern conditions.
