Reverse osmosis is a membrane-based water treatment technology that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove salts, minerals, and other impurities from water, making it suitable for drinking and other purposes.

Nanofiltration is a membrane-based water treatment technology that uses a semipermeable membrane with pores smaller than those used in reverse osmosis, allowing the passage of water molecules and small ions while retaining larger molecules and particles.

Microfiltration is a membrane-based water treatment technology that uses a semipermeable membrane with pores large enough to allow the passage of water and small particles while retaining larger particles, suspended solids, and microorganisms.

Ultrafiltration membranes typically have pore sizes in the range of 1-10 nm, allowing the passage of small molecules and ions while retaining larger molecules, colloids, and microorganisms.

Ultrafiltration is often used as a pretreatment step for reverse osmosis to remove suspended solids, colloids, and microorganisms, reducing the load on the reverse osmosis membrane and improving its performance.

In reverse osmosis, a pressure difference is applied across a semipermeable membrane, forcing water molecules to pass through the membrane from a high-concentration solution to a low-concentration solution.

Nanofiltration is commonly used for the removal of organic contaminants, including pesticides, herbicides, and pharmaceuticals, due to its ability to retain molecules with a molecular weight range of approximately 150-1000 Da.

Microfiltration membranes typically have pore sizes in the range of 10-100 nm, allowing the passage of water and small particles while retaining larger particles, suspended solids, and microorganisms.

Ultrafiltration is often used for the removal of viruses, as its pore size range is small enough to retain viruses while allowing the passage of water and smaller molecules.

Microfiltration is a membrane-based water treatment technology that uses a semipermeable membrane with pores large enough to allow the passage of water and small particles while retaining larger particles, suspended solids, and microorganisms.

Reverse osmosis is commonly used for the removal of heavy metals, as its semipermeable membrane can effectively retain metal ions due to their larger size and charge.

Reverse osmosis membranes typically have pore sizes in the range of 0.1-0.5 nm, allowing the passage of water molecules while retaining salts, minerals, and other impurities.

Microfiltration is often used for the removal of bacteria, as its pore size range is small enough to retain bacteria while allowing the passage of water and smaller molecules.

Reverse osmosis is a membrane-based water treatment technology that uses a semipermeable membrane to separate water molecules from salts, minerals, and other impurities based on their size.