Methods to Reduce TDS in Water

Understanding total dissolved solids (TDS) in water is crucial in maintaining your health. Drinking water with high levels of TDS may result in various adverse health conditions, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, reproductive problems, and neurological disorders. Reducing TDS to permissible levels is just as important in various industrial applications where contaminants may lead to ineffective products. Here are some methods for reducing TDS in water.

Differentiating Reverse Osmosis Systems

To put it simply, reverse osmosis (RO) technology are water filtration systems that utilize high pressure reverse osmosis to purify brackish water or sea water. All RO systems available on the market basically work and look the same way, and possess the same basic components. The difference lie in the quality of the filters and the RO membrane used, which are major determinants of the quality of the water it produces. Here are some questions to help you decide whether the system you’re thinking of buying is right for your needs:

• How is the filter or membrane made? Will it allow water to flow through efficiently while ridding it of unwanted particulates and contaminants?
• What type of materials are the plastic components made of?
• How is the quality of the “fill”? Can its contents reduce contaminants effectively?
• What about the size of the micron filter? Is the rate too low such that it can result to clogging and frequent filter replacement?
• Is the overall system approved by the National Safety Foundation or NSF?
• What happens when microbes accumulate on the cartridge and the membrane?

These are just some questions you have to ask yourself (and the seller or manufacturer) when looking for an RO water filtration system. Remember to understand all the potential setbacks first before buying one so you’ll be able to maintain the system properly and ensure that it’s functioning at an optimal level.

Reverse Osmosis: Then and Now

Osmosis has been happening in nature for millions of years. When it comes to the science of it, osmosis was first discovered in 1748 by Jean-Antoine Nollet. It was only later on, in 1940, when researchers began looking for ways to extract pure water from salty water. Researchers from UCLA made the major breakthrough in 1959 and were the first to demonstrate the process known as reverse osmosis.

The first commercial reverse osmosis plant in the world was constructed in Coalinga, California with the aid of Sidney Leob and Joseph W. McCutchan. Its pilot program took place in 1965 and captured the attention of engineers and governments from across the globe. Soon enough, new pilot programs kept popping up in different places. While the Coalinga plant dealt with producing pure water from brackish water, a plant in La Jolla dealt with extracting fresh water from the sea. This was a much taller task as the salt content of seawater is approximately 10 times more than that of the average brackish water.