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How the Reverse Osmosis Membrane works:
When the reverse osmosis system is operating, feed water flows into
one end of the membrane housing element as shown above. It flows
across the wound membrane. Because there is pressure on the water,
reverse osmosis takes place. Water flows through the membrane to the
core, while the dissolved minerals remain on the feed side. The
water that flows through the membrane is called "permeate". The
permeate, or product water from the membrane, is now safe to drink.
The rate of production is relatively slow. Normally a storage tank
is used hold the finished water until it is needed. When the tank is
full, the system will automatically stop making R.O. water.
Not all of the water flows through the membrane. Only 25-50% of the
water becomes permeate. The remainder stays on the feed side of the
membrane and flushes away the dissolved minerals. this water is
called the "concentrate". The concentrate plays an important role in
the operation of the membrane. As the permeate flows through the
membrane, the concentrate retains almost all of the minerals that
were in the original feed water. The TDS (total dissolved solids) of
the concentrate rises. As it flows past the membrane, it carries
away the minerals, in effect washing the surface of the membrane. It
is eventually piped out to the drain. If the concentrate did not
carry away the minerals, the membrane would foul or plug-up, acting
like a filter which fills with particles and must be changed. Proper
concentrate flow across the membrane will generally mean many years
of high quality water from the membrane.
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