Revolutionizing Water Desalination: Overturning Decades-Old Theory of Reverse Osmosis.
Researchers at Yale University have discovered that the standard explanation for how reverse osmosis works is fundamentally wrong. The widely accepted theory of solution-diffusion has been used for over 50 years to explain how reverse osmosis removes salt and impurities from water. However, the researchers found that water transport is driven by changes in pressure within the membranes, rather than the concentration of molecules. This discovery could lead to more effective uses of reverse osmosis and the development of more effective materials and techniques to improve the process.