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What is reverse osmosis?

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By far the most promising approach is the reverse osmosis process, in which pressure is applied to saltwater to force it through a special membrane. Only pure water passes, leaving concentrated seawater behind. Where multistage flash distillation costs about $4 per 1,000 gallons, reverse osmosis costs about half that amount. This process is used by a plant in the Tampa Bay area, Florida, that produces 25 million gallons of drinking water a day. Another type uses an empty hollow sphere of semipermeable material that is lowered into the sea. The water flowing into the sphere is fresh, since the salt is excluded by the membrane that covers the entire sphere and is its guard.

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Similar questions: What function does reverse osmosis perform? What is the reverse osmosis of the desalination of water? What is the purpose of reverse osmosis? [ Hide these questions ]

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