Definition

Noun: 1. A separation process in chemistry and engineering: Reverse osmosis is a method for purifying water or other solvents. It works by applying pressure to force the solvent through a semipermeable membrane, moving from a more concentrated solution to a less concentrated one. This direction is opposite to natural osmosis.

Usage

Reverse osmosis is primarily used as a compound noun to describe the technology or process itself. * Many modern homes use a reverse osmosis system to filter their drinking water. * Reverse osmosis is an effective technique for desalinating seawater. * The laboratory uses reverse osmosis to produce high-purity water for experiments.

Advanced Usage

• Technical Context: In technical and industrial writing, "reverse osmosis" is often abbreviated as RO. It is a critical process in desalination plants, wastewater treatment, and the production of ultrapure water for pharmaceutical and semiconductor manufacturing.
  • The new facility will use RO to treat brackish groundwater.
  • The purity of the solvent was achieved through a multi-stage reverse osmosis process.

Variants and Related Words

• Osmosis (Noun): The natural process by which a solvent (like water) passes through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one.
• RO (Abbreviation): A common abbreviation for "reverse osmosis."
• Semipermeable membrane (Noun Phrase): A barrier that allows some molecules (like water) to pass through but blocks others (like salts and impurities); the key component in reverse osmosis.
• Desalination (Noun): The process of removing salt from seawater, often achieved using reverse osmosis.

Synonyms

• Membrane filtration: A broader category of separation processes that includes reverse osmosis.
• Hyperfiltration: Another technical term sometimes used interchangeably with reverse osmosis.

Related Phrases

• RO system / RO unit: A common phrase referring to the physical equipment that performs reverse osmosis.
  • We need to replace the filters in the RO unit.
• RO membrane: Specifically refers to the semipermeable membrane used in the process.
  • Fouling can reduce the efficiency of an RO membrane.

Noun

1. (chemistry) a method of producing pure water; a solvent passes through a semipermeable membrane in a direction opposite to that for natural osmosis when it is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure greater than the osmotic pressure