This water purification technology uses a semipermeable membrane to remove ions, molecules, and larger particles from drinking water.
The theory behind this process is that the differential concentration between to liquids separated by a semi-permeable membrane will produce an osmotic pressure, a colligative property, that drives the less concentrated liquid on one side of the membrane to pass to the more concentrated side. In reverse osmosis, idea is to apply enough pressure to the concentrated fluid to overcome the osmotic pressure so the pure solvent is allowed to pass trough the membrane.
With reverse osmosis systems we can remove many types of dissolved and suspended species from water, including bacteria, and is used in both industrial
processes and the production of potable water.
