Why can reverse osmosis water purification system effectively remove heavy metals and chemical pollutants?

The reason why the reverse osmosis water purification system can efficiently remove heavy metals and chemical pollutants in water is mainly due to its core technology - reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. The pore size of the RO membrane is extremely small, usually around 0.0001 microns, which is much smaller than the molecular size of most pollutants. Water molecules can pass through this membrane under pressure, while most dissolved solids, heavy metal ions, organic pollutants, bacteria and viruses are blocked on the other side of the membrane and discharged from the system with wastewater. This ultra-fine physical screening effect enables the RO system to effectively remove heavy metals including lead, mercury, arsenic, as well as chemical pollutants such as chlorine, pesticide residues, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), thereby providing extremely high-purity drinking water.

Throughout the water purification process, the reverse osmosis system not only relies on the filtration capacity of the RO membrane, but also combines multi-stage pretreatment filtration technology to further improve the water purification effect. First, the water entering the system will pass through the PP cotton filter element. This stage is mainly used to remove sediment, rust, large suspended particles, etc. in the water to prevent these impurities from clogging the RO membrane. Next, the water flows through the activated carbon filter, which can absorb chlorine, odors and some organic compounds in the water. Chlorine is highly destructive to RO membranes, so pretreatment before RO filtration can extend the service life of the membrane. After these two pre-filtrations, the water enters the core RO membrane for deep purification. Under high pressure, water molecules are forced through the RO membrane, while heavy metal ions, chemical pollutants and microorganisms are completely intercepted and discharged with the wastewater. The water purified by the RO membrane is extremely pure, but some systems are also equipped with post-activated carbon filters to further optimize the taste of the water, remove possible residual odors, and make the final water more suitable for direct drinking.

The high efficiency of the reverse osmosis system in water purification is inseparable from the role of water pressure. In the RO system, water needs to run under high pressure so that water molecules can pass through the extremely small RO membrane pores, while ensuring that pollutants cannot enter the water purification end. Therefore, the system is usually equipped with a high-pressure pump to provide enough power to push the water through the RO membrane. This process not only ensures high water purity, but also prevents pollutants from penetrating, making the water purification effect more thorough. Due to the fine filtering characteristics of the RO membrane, its removal rate for heavy metals and chemical pollutants is very high, usually reaching more than 90%. For example, the removal rate of lead can reach 99%, the removal rate of harmful metals such as arsenic and mercury is also more than 96%, and the removal rate of chemical pollutants such as chlorine and pesticide residues can reach more than 98%.