What Is Permeate in Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration?
Written by: Gene Fitzgerald // Last Updated: Jul 21, 2023
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There is a lot of technical jargon in the world of reverse osmosis water filtration, and one you will frequently come across is ‘permeate’ or ‘permeate water’.
Let’s see what it means!
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Key Takeaways
- The term ‘permeate’ refers to the filtered water obtained from a reverse osmosis system, so the water that does not go down the wastewater drain.
What Is Permeate in Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration?
So, what is ‘permeate’ in reverse osmosis water filtration?
‘Permeate’ is the term used to describe the portion of the reverse osmosis feedwater water that successfully passes through the RO membrane. It is also commonly known as the ‘product’.
Permeate = Feedwater – Concentrate.
Put simply; it’s the water that’s obtained from the reverse osmosis system that doesn’t go down the drain as wastewater. It’s the purified RO water that you can use for drinking etc.
What Is a Reverse Osmosis Permeate Pump and How Does It Work?
A permeate pump, on the other hand, is used in reverse osmosis systems to increase efficiency and conserve water. How?
A permeate pump operates by harnessing the power of the brine (wastewater) to generate energy. This energy is then used to pressurize the permeate and store it in the RO unit’s tank.
Let me elaborate:
Under sink RO storage tanks use air pressure to deliver water through the RO faucet. Now, traditional reverse osmosis systems rely on feed water pressure to push water into said tanks. As mentioned before, a permeate pump harnesses the pressure from the reject water – to give the filtering process a little extra boost. It makes it easier to overcome backpressure from the tank.
The outcome is a significant boost in unit efficiency. With less backpressure hindering it, a reverse osmosis system fills its tank much faster, producing less reject water and more permeate.
Further Reading:
If you have any questions about permeate in reverse osmosis please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
About the Author Gene Fitzgerald
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