Everyone knows that water filtration is a process that greatly helps in ensuring clean and safe water for drinking, cooking, and washing purposes. There are different types of filtration processes available such as UV filtration, Activated Carbon, etc. And each one of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.
However, one of the most widely known and used filtration processes is Reverse Osmosis (RO). It can remove a wide range of impurities and contaminants from water with 99% of accuracy. But to confirm whether RO filtration is actually effective or not, we are going to compare it with other filtration processes.
Let’s get started, FOLKS!
Also, read our recent blog post about Reasons Why You Should Filter Normal Water
Reverse Osmosis – A Comprehensive Overview
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a filtration process in which regular tap water is forced to pass through a special semi-permeable membrane. This membrane contains tiny pores that efficiently capture or block both large and small contaminants, providing completely clean and safe water.
Some common contaminants and impurities that are removed by RO filtration include:
· Bacteria
· Viruses
· Chemicals
· Sediment
· Heavy metals
And many more.
Notable Advantages of Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration
There are numerous benefits of RO filtration, some of the most useful ones are discussed below.
1. Removal of a Wide Range of Contaminants:
RO filtration is the one & only filtration process that effectively removes a wide range of hazardous contaminants and impurities with maximum accuracy. This makes it the go-to option for most health-conscious people.
When they consume the highest quality water, they will be more likely to experience health benefits and prevent themselves from serious disease attacks.
2. Better Taste & Smell of Water:
By removing a number of contaminants and impurities, RO filtration can greatly enhance the overall quality of water in terms of taste as well as smell. Ultimately, the enhanced water quality will encourage kids and adults to consume a maximum amount of water, resulting in improved health and well-being.
3. Energy Efficiency:
In this era of technology, modern RO water filters are now available in the market. These filtration systems are specifically designed to be highly energy efficient to preserve valuable sources.
The energy efficiency means, they can run on low power, which will ultimately result
Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration
Apart from benefits, Reverse osmosis filtration also has multiple downsides that we have discussed below.
1. Water Waste:
The major downside of RO filtration is that it produces more water as waste rather than filtered water. Let us explain in simpler terms, if you filter 5 gallons of water, then the RO filtration system will only provide 1 gallon of water and the remaining gallons will be wasted.
This can be a real concern for the areas that lack water sources.
2. Removal of beneficial Minerals:
Till now, RO filters have not been intelligent enough to differentiate between contaminants and good minerals. So, during the filtration process, they remove both impurities as well as good minerals from the water, making it completely neutral.
This can be an issue for health-sensitive people who are asking to consume certain water minerals in order to remain healthy.
Now, we think you have an efficient understanding of Reverse osmosis filtration. It is time to compare it with other filtration methods.
RO Filtration Comparison With Other Filtration Systems
Below we have made a comparison of reverse osmosis with other filtration methods or processes.
Comparison with Activated Carbon Filtration:
The activated carbon filtration process efficiently removes chlorine, volatile organic compounds, and some certain heavy metals. Additionally, it is less effective at eliminating dissolved salts and minerals.
On the other hand, reverse osmosis accurately removes a wide range of contaminants and impurities in no time. This gives RO an upper hand over the activated carbon filter.
However, it is important to keep in mind that, activated carbon filters are usually more energy-efficient than RO filters.
Comparison with Ultra Violet Filters
UV filtration makes use of Ultraviolet radiation in order to efficiently treat water. It can effectively inactivate microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. However, this filtration can’t eliminate dissolved contaminants. One good thing is that these filters require less maintenance and also less energy.
Whereas, RO filtration, these systems can effectively eliminate microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Apart from this, they also remove dissolved contaminants. However, these filters require consistent maintenance in order to work properly.
So, the choice is yours – when it comes to which is the best one here!
Comparison with Ion Exchange:
The ion exchange filtration is highly effective at removing dissolved salts and other bad minerals from the water. Additionally, it can also eliminate some heavy metals as well. However, it is important, ion exchange requires periodic resin regeneration – which is quite a time-consuming process.
On the contrary, that’s not the case with RO filtration. The Reverse osmosis filters provide filtered water with just one click of a button. Due to this, this is the most widely used filtration system all around the world.
Comparison with Sediment Filtration
The name says it all – sediment filtration efficiently removes larger particles of sediment and suspended solids from the water. The good thing about this treatment is that it can also be used as a pre-treatment step for other filtration methods.
And do you know? most RO filters available in the market make use of sediment treatment as a part of their entire filtration process. This also gives them an upper hand over other filtration methods.
Comparison with Distillation
Finally, distillation is also a common filtration method that involves boiling the water until it turns into steam. After this, the steam is then converted back into water. This process removes a number of contaminants including dissolved solids, minerals, and microorganisms.
However, this is also a time-consuming process, and a real issue the more water you distill, the more time it will take. But as you already know, reverse osmosis filters provide a consistent supply of filtered water on demand.
Final Words
There is no doubt that RO filtration is one of the most widely used methods for treating regular tap water. This is because it removes 99% of contaminants. In this blog post, we have compared reverse osmosis with other filtration methods, so that you can have a better understanding.