What is reverse osmosis

Reverse osmosis is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane. The water is purified at the molecular level by removing ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from (sea) water.

After a series of pre-filtration steps, in which the incoming seawater is filtered to remove dirt, oil residues and any other small parts above 5 microns, the pre-filtered water is passed through semi-permeable membrane filters. This is done under high pressure, normally around 60 bar. The reverse osmosis process is essentially a removal mechanism based on differences in solubility or diffusivity, extracting salt and other effluent materials previously dissolved or suspended in the feed water. After the reverse osmosis, some post-treatment is sometimes added to complete the process that leads to high-quality, long-life drinking water, for example, a PH neutralizer or a UV sterilizer.

Compared to microfiltration, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, reverse osmosis is the best filtration method and filters the most unwanted particles. The result is really fresh and clean drinking water for the entire ship. All watermakers in the Sea Recovery range are based on the principle of reverse osmosis.