Reverse Osmosis

What RO does well – and the trade-off to plan for 

RO uses semi-permeable membranes to reject dissolved contaminants, including PFAS across the full chain-length spectrum, and can achieve high overall removal efficiency across a wide range of PFAS compounds.

The trade-off is what happens to everything RO removes. Rather than destroying contaminants, RO concentrates them into a reject stream that typically represents 15–30% of the treated volume – carrying not only PFAS but also the salts, metals and organics removed from the water. That concentrate still requires further treatment, destruction or disposal, and membrane fouling in complex, high-strength leachate needs to be actively managed.

The right role for RO – standalone, pretreatment or polishing – depends on your water matrix, discharge target and what happens downstream of the concentrate. Our team can help you weigh RO against the rest of the Chromafora portfolio for your site.