Reverse Osmosis: The Misunderstood Water Purification Method.

A study published in April by Yale’s environmental engineering program has replaced the “solution-diffusion” model of reverse osmosis with a “solution-friction” theory that water molecules travel in clusters through tiny, transient pores within the polymer, which exert friction on them as they pass through. This breakthrough could help people design membrane materials or structures that make desalination more efficient or better at screening out undesirable chemicals, and improve municipal water systems.