# Water filtering methods

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-filtering-methods/8242>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 7, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-filtering-methods/8242 "2000-03-07T00:06:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![msharek1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b77776/32.png) [@msharek1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msharek1)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-filtering-methods/8242/1 "2000-03-07T00:06:00Z")

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My bottle of water says “Filtered by reverse osmosis.”  
What does that mean?

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**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-filtering-methods/8242/2 "2000-03-07T00:51:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Reverse osmosis uses a membrane that is semi-permeable, allowing the fluid that is being purified to pass through it, while rejecting the contaminants that remain. Most reverse osmosis technology uses a process known as crossflow to allow the membrane to continually clean itself. As some of the fluid passes through the membrane the rest continues downstream, sweeping the rejected species away from the membrane. The process of reverse osmosis requires a driving force to push the fluid through the membrane, and the most common force is pressure from a pump. The higher the pressure, the larger the driving force. As the concentration of the fluid being rejected increases, the driving force required to continue concentrating the fluid increases.

[http://www.osmonics.com/products/Page833.htm](http://www.osmonics.com/products/Page833.htm)

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**Author:** ![Rahul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@Rahul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rahul)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-filtering-methods/8242/3 "2000-03-08T06:39:00Z")

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Reverse osmosis, eh. That’s what they use oon board the shuttle to make re-cycle water from urine.

(Also used by Kevin Costner in “Waterworld”)

[P-2-H20](http://www.sae.org/products/papers/1999-01-1992.htm)