In our daily life, water purifier as a kind of household water treatment equipment, has gradually become the standard equipment of many families. In many types of water purifiers, reverse osmosis water purifiers are favored for their efficient water purification effect. However, many consumers in the use of RO water purifiers, it will discharge wastewater this phenomenon is confused: why reverse osmosis water purifiers will discharge wastewater? Is this wastewater really worthless? Next, we will explore these issues in depth.
Why call “reverse osmosis” filtration?
First, we need to understand what reverse osmosis is. When the same volume of dilute solution (such as fresh water) and concentrated solution (such as salt water) were placed on both sides of a semi-permeable membrane, due to the concentration of solutes in the concentrated solution is higher than the dilute solution, the solvent in the dilute solution (such as water) will naturally pass through the semi-permeable membrane, spontaneous flow to the side of the concentrated solution, this phenomenon is called osmosis. This phenomenon is called osmosis. When osmosis reaches equilibrium, the liquid level of the concentrated solution side will be higher than that of the dilute solution by a certain height, and the pressure difference formed by this height difference is the osmotic pressure.
However, if we apply a pressure greater than the osmotic pressure on the concentrated solution side, the direction of flow of the solvent will be reversed, and it will begin to flow from the concentrated solution to the dilute solution side, a process known as reverse osmosis. In an RO water purifier, the concentrated solution (i.e., the water to be treated) is purified by applying pressure to the concentrated solution (i.e., the water to be treated) by energizing it to change the original direction of osmosis so that water molecules flow in the reverse direction, thus passing through the RO membrane to achieve purification of the concentrated solution and produce pure water.
Why does it produce wastewater?
The core component of the RO water purifier is the reverse osmosis membrane, and its working principle determines that the water purifier will discharge a certain amount of wastewater while producing pure water. The reverse osmosis membrane of the water purifier is actually a process of liquid concentration during the working process. When water flows over the surface of the reverse osmosis membrane, the salt content of the water is increasing, and the osmotic pressure of the water increases. When the osmotic pressure increases to equal the pressure exerted by the booster pump, the water can no longer flow through the reverse osmosis membrane into the water purification side, this part of the water failed to pass through the water is known as the production of water produced when the waste water.
Wastewater is generated because, in order to maintain the filtration efficiency and life of the reverse osmosis membrane, the need to control the concentration of the membrane surface polarization phenomenon, that is, to prevent the membrane surface salt concentration is too high leading to a decline in membrane performance. Therefore, RO water purifier in the process of water production, will regularly discharge a portion of high salt content of wastewater, in order to maintain the membrane surface clean and efficient filtration.
Is “wastewater” really useless?
In the face of waste water produced by RO water purifiers, many people may feel that it is a waste. But in fact, with the current level of development of water purification technology, RO water purifier in the output of a cup of pure water at the same time, it is indeed the same as a cup of wastewater discharged. This means that if a family needs to drink 3L of pure water a day, then accordingly, this day will discharge 3L of waste water. However, this amount of wastewater is actually insignificant compared to the amount of water a household uses on a daily basis.
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Our daily water needs for flushing toilets, mopping floors, doing laundry, scrubbing dishes, etc. far exceed the amount of wastewater produced by RO water filters. Therefore, in terms of total household water consumption, the wastewater produced by RO water purifiers does not pose much of a burden.
What’s more, this wastewater is not useless. Although they fail to pass through the reverse osmosis membrane to become pure water, it is good to know that they have at least gone through the first three stages of filtration in the water purifier. These filtration processes usually include coarse filtration, activated carbon adsorption, etc., which are able to remove large particles of impurities, residual chlorine, odors, and other harmful substances from the water. As a result, this wastewater is still superior to untreated tap water in terms of cleanliness.
In practical life, we can put these wastewaters to use. For example, it is good to use them to mop the floor, flush the toilet and wash things. This can not only reduce the waste of household water, but also reduce the cost of living to a certain extent.
Conclusion
In summary, RO water purifier will discharge wastewater, because its working principle determines that in the process of water production needs to be regularly discharged part of the wastewater with high salt content to keep the membrane surface clean and efficient filtration. However, these wastewater is not useless, they still have a certain value of utilization. Through the rational use of this wastewater, we can reduce the waste of household water and maximize the use of resources. Therefore, when using RO water purifier, we don’t need to worry too much about wastewater, but should pay more attention to its water purification effect and the actual needs of household water.
