| reverse osmosis n. A process by which a solvent such as water is purified of solutes by being forced through a semipermeable membrane through which the solvent, but not the solutes, may pass. |   |
reverse osmosis
n
(Engineering / Chemical Engineering) a technique for purifying water, in which pressure is applied to force liquid through a semipermeable membrane in the opposite direction to that in normal osmosis
| reverse osmosis A method of producing pure water by forcing saline or impure water through a semipermeable membrane across which salts or impurities cannot pass. Reverse osmosis is used for water filtration, for desalinization of seawater, and in kidney dialysis machines. |  |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | reverse osmosis - (chemistry) a method of producing pure water; a solvent passes through a semipermeable membrane in a direction opposite to that for natural osmosis when it is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure greater than the osmotic pressure chemical science, chemistry - the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions osmosis - (biology, chemistry) diffusion of molecules through a semipermeable membrane from a place of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration until the concentration on both sides is equal |
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