Ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis

ULTRAFILTRATION

Ultrafiltration is a purely mechanical separation process which uses special membranes of porosity less than 0,1 micron to filter molecules in water without using chemical additives.

This method is particularly suitable for industrial water treatments when it is required the separation and concentration of substances such as:

  • proteins, gelatines, colloids;
  • mineral and synthetic oil-based emulsions, even containing metallic ions, from wire-drawing plants, quenching baths, tank washing waters, public transport depots wastewaters;
  • phosphating and electrolytic plant effluents;
  • agro-industrial wastewaters;
  • chemical and paint industry effluents, cationic and anionic electrophoretic baths, autophoretic baths wastewaters;
  • wastewaters containing polyacrylates or polyvinyl acetate in solution.

REVERSE OSMOSIS

Among all water treatment systems, Reverse Osmosis is the most advanced; it allows to reduce the content of dissolved salts..

The Reverse Osmosis in applicable to the treatment of any sort of water salinity; its prerogative is to separate water from salt ions without moving them, such that occurs with other methods.

osmosi inversa

The term Reverse Osmosis comes from the natural phenomenon of osmosis that takes place when water passes from a less concentrated solution to a more concentrated one through a semipermeable membrane, similar to a Ieaf of a tree.

As a bigger pressure is applied to the more concentrated solution, water begins to flow towards the less concentrated solution. The process is therefore called Reverse Osmosis.

It is extremely important to understand that the membrane does not retain impurities on its own surface as a filter does.

The part of solution which passes through the membrane is called “permeate” which is pure demineralized water.

osmosi inversa