Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello, for my science fair project I am trying to find an efficient way to clean water. I want this process to be able to clean water faster than solar powered distillation using reverse osmosis. I have bought a reverse osmosis membrane but I don’t know how I’m going to exert enough pressure to get the water through the membrane. I know that I need 60 psi to do this but I don’t know how.

Thanks!

Hi,

You might consider using a pump to pressurize your membrane filter. If you only need to treat enough water to obtain test samples, you may be able to pressurize a batch of water in a small container using a manual pump (like a bicycle pump). The small water container could be made with fittings at either end to connect to the pump and to the membrane filter. Fill the container with water and pump to the required pressure until a sufficient sample exits the filter.

I hope this helps. Please post again if you have more questions.

A. Norman