English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

2007-03-03 23:35:58 · 2 answers · asked by Mary S 1 in Science & Mathematics Chemistry

Great Empress: I do NOT think your answer is brief enough :-P

2007-03-03 23:47:22 · update #1

Besides you did not read very carefully about the part''is used to purify sea water''

2007-03-03 23:48:20 · update #2

2 answers

Reverse osmosis is the process of pushing a solution through a filter that traps the solute on one side and allows the pure solvent to be obtained from the other side. More formally, it is the process of forcing a solvent from a region of high solute concentration through a membrane to a region of low solute concentration by applying a pressure in excess of the osmotic pressure. This is the reverse of the normal osmosis process, which is the natural movement of solvent from an area of low solute concentration, through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration when no external pressure is applied. The membrane here is semipermeable, meaning it allows the passage of solvent but not of solute.

The membranes used for reverse osmosis have a dense polymer barrier layer in which separation takes place. In most cases the membrane is designed to allow only water to pass through this dense layer while preventing the passage of the solute (e.g. salt). This process requires that a high pressure be exerted on the high concentration side of the membrane, usually 2 - 14 bar (30 - 200 pounds per square inch) for fresh and brackish water, and 40 - 70 bar [(600 - 1000 psig)] for seawater, which has around 24 bar (350 psi) natural osmotic pressure which must be overcome.

This process is best known for its use in desalination (removing the salt from sea water to get fresh water) and has been used in this way since the early 1970s.

2007-03-03 23:46:17 · answer #1 · answered by greatempress 3 · 0 0

Ur sooooooooooooooo rude that gurl was trying to help you and u have the audacity to insult her!!!!!!!!!

2007-03-09 16:50:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers