Reverse osmosis, or RO, is a sophisticated water purification process. It's a membrane filtration system that operates by forcing water through microscopic pores in a semi-permeable membrane under pressure. To generate highly purified, great-tasting water, modern RO systems for the home combine membrane technology with carbon and mechanical filtering.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMERCIAL WATER FILTERS?
Installing adequate filters is critical for ensuring that ice, drinking water, and steam are as clean and healthy as possible. The three most common types of water filters found in commercial kitchen equipment, as well as what they specialize in, are listed below:
- i. Activated carbon filters - These filters contain a small amount of charcoal powder that, through a chemical reaction, causes water and airborne particles like dust and mould to adhere to the filter.
- ii. Carbonless water filters — Theseallow chlorine and monochloramine from your local water system to pass through, preserving incoming water sterilization and preventing scale damage to equipment. They can be used to cleanse hard water.
- iii. Reverse osmosis (RO) filters — RO systems use a semipermeable membrane to filter out impurities while allowing only the purest water molecules to pass through.
HOW ARE THESES RELATED TO TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS (TDS)?
TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids.TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) is a metric that measures the total amount of inorganic and organic compounds dissolved in water. These components could be suspended in molecular, ionized, or micro-granular form. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonate, chloride, and sulphate are examples of inorganic compounds that typically contribute to TDS measurements. Organic chemicals that may contribute to TDS can come from a variety of sources, including chemical application on land, industrial chemical releases into the environment, vegetable matter, and/or animal matter.TDS is measured in a laboratory by weighing the mass of solids left after water has been entirely evaporated. Handheld metres are frequently used in practice to estimate TDS in water based on a conductivity measurement. TDS varies greatly from one place to the next (and store to store), and is mostly governed by the region's water source (groundwater or surface water) and geologic make-up.
DOES EVERY COMMERCIAL KITCHEN NEED RO? WHY NOT?
No, RO is not required in every commercial kitchen. Water quality, as evaluated by a variety of factors, varies greatly around the world. As a result, some waters have high TDS concentrations and are more prone to cause scale in water using equipment, whereas others have very low TDS concentrations and pose no hazard to equipment. Similarly, some waters have ideal TDS concentrations for brewing beverage flavour, while others do not.
Because of this variability, RO should only be used when the TDS or hardness in a feed water is high enough to cause scale in equipment or have a detrimental influence on the quality of beverages made with that water.