Reverse osmosis (RO) is a special type of filtration that uses a semi-permeable, thin membrane with pores small enough to pass pure water through while rejecting larger molecules such as dissolved salts (ions) and other impurities such as bacteria. Reverse osmosis is used to produce highly purified water for drinking water systems, industrial boilers, food and beverage processing, cosmetics, pharmaceutical production, seawater desalination, and many other applications. It has been a recognized technology for more than a century and commercialized since the 1960’s.

Reverse osmosis is a continuously operating treatment technology that uses pressure to pass source water through a thin membrane and thereby separate impurities from water.