To understand the term Reverse Osmosis, we need to look back into the history of Osmosis in the science field. The process Osmosis, has a long history but from a scientific point of view, it was first discovered in 1748 by JeanAntoine Nollet. Nollet was able to replicate the osmotic process using the pig's bladder as a membrane to demonstrate that solvent molecules from low solute water can flow through the bladder wall in a higher solute concentration. The experiment demonstrated that a solvent can selectively cross a semipermeable membrane by the process of natural osmotic pressure and that the solvent continuously penetrates through the cell membrane until it reaches a dynamic equilibrium on both sides of the cell.
After the discovery of osmosis, the study on the subject disappeared for over 200 years until the late 1940s, when researchers began to reconsider the subject. This renewed interest was based on the desire to find a way to filter or desalinate seawater, a goal set by the Kennedy administration to help develop water scarcity solutions for the country. Twenty years later, two researchers, Sidney Loeb and Srinivasa Sourirajan succeeded in producing a functional synthetic RO membrane from a polymer of cellulose acetate. In their tests, a body of water with a high solute content was forced through the technical membrane which acted as a filter that only allowed water molecules to pass while repelling NaCl (salt) and TDS. Fresh water was able to pass at a decent rate to produce purified, potable water, and the membrane was effectively durable and could work under normal water pressure and operating conditions.
The world’s first commercial RO plant was built California with the help and direction of Joseph W. McCutchan and Sidney Loeb and in 1965 its pilot program drew the attention of engineers and governments from around the world. This incredible dream, that one day humanity could actually desalinate sea water on a large scale and affordably, was finally coming true. Progress grew quickly as new pilot programs sprung up elsewhere like La Jolla and Firebaugh California to test different types of brackish and seawater. The innovations and discoveries of these and many other contributors would make membrane technology relevant and affordable and provide clean water benefits for many heavy industries.
Today, reverse osmosis and membrane filtration elements are used for thousands of different processes and applications around the world and this industry is expected to continue to grow unabated into the near future. With natural clean water sources becoming more scarce and the continual trend of world desertification, large reverse osmosis processing plants now provide much of the clean water used by some cities and even small countries. Most people don’t realize it now, but in the near future clean water may soon become one of the most valuable resources on the planet which is why RO technology is indeed one of the top scientific achievements in human history.
Post time: Nov-02-2021