Engineering English
Reverse Osmosis
Environmental Engineering · Chemical Engineering · Last updated: July 30, 2026 · How this entry was written
Definition: Reverse osmosis is a membrane filtration process that removes ions, molecules, and larger particles from water by applying pressure to overcome osmotic pressure. It is widely used for desalination and advanced water purification.
Example in context
“The coastal municipality's new desalination plant relies on reverse osmosis to produce drinking water from seawater.”
“Kıyı belediyesinin yeni tuzdan arındırma tesisi, deniz suyundan içme suyu üretmek için ters ozmoza güveniyor.”
Where engineers use it
Reverse osmosis is critical in desalination and brackish water treatment. Engineers design membrane arrays and high-pressure pumps to achieve the required permeate quality and recovery rate.
Synonyms: RO, hyperfiltration
In Chemical Engineering
A pressure-driven membrane process in which applied pressure exceeding the osmotic pressure forces solvent through a dense membrane while dissolved salts are rejected. It produces high-purity water from saline or contaminated feeds.
“The desalination plant pressurises seawater to about sixty bar so that reverse osmosis can deliver permeate meeting the drinking water salinity limit.”
Practice: can you use “Reverse Osmosis” at work?
You are a design engineer for a brackish water treatment plant. The feed water has high sulfate levels. Justify the use of reverse osmosis over nanofiltration for this application.
Show a model answer
“Reverse osmosis effectively removes dissolved salts and contaminants to produce high-purity water.”
“Reverse Osmosis” in 21 languages
| English | Reverse Osmosis |
|---|---|
| Turkish | ters ozmoz |
| French | osmose inverse |
| German | Umkehrosmose |
| Spanish | ósmosis inversa |
| Chinese | 反渗透 |
| Arabic | التناضح العكسي |
| Portuguese | osmose reversa |
| Russian | обратный осмос |
| Japanese | 逆浸透 |
| Italian | osmosi inversa |
| Vietnamese | thẩm thấu ngược |
| Hindi | रिवर्स ऑस्मोसिस |
| Thai | รีเวิร์สออสโมซิส |
| Indonesian | osmosis balik |
| Korean | 역삼투 |
| Bengali | বিপরীত আস্রবণ |
| Dutch | omgekeerde osmose |
| Swedish | omvänd osmos |
| Finnish | käänteisosmoosi |
| Ukrainian | зворотний осмос |
Frequently asked questions
What does Reverse Osmosis mean in engineering?
Reverse osmosis is a membrane filtration process that removes ions, molecules, and larger particles from water by applying pressure to overcome osmotic pressure. It is widely used for desalination and advanced water purification. In Environmental Engineering, the term carries a usage-frequency rating of 10/10 in the Engineering English library.
How do you pronounce Reverse Osmosis?
Reverse Osmosis is pronounced /rɪˈvɜːrs ɒzˈmoʊsɪs/ (IPA). The Engineering English app plays audio for the term and checks your pronunciation with speech recognition.
How is Reverse Osmosis used in a sentence?
Example from an engineering context: “The coastal municipality's new desalination plant relies on reverse osmosis to produce drinking water from seawater.”
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