Can reverse osmosis remove microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria?
Reverse osmosis (RO) is very dense and has a very high removal rate of viruses, phages and bacteria, at least 3log or more (removal rate>99.9%). However, it should also be noted that in many cases, microorganisms may still breed on the water side of the membrane, which mainly depends on the method of assembly, monitoring and maintenance. That is, the ability of a certain system to remove microorganisms is critically determined by the method of assembly, monitoring and maintenance. It depends on the proper system design, operation and management, not on the nature of the membrane element itself.
