Example 1.11

Example . The phenomena mentioned in the beginning of this section can be explained on the basis of osmosis. A raw mango placed in concentrated salt solution loses water via osmosis and shrivel into pickle. Wilted flowers revive when placed in fresh water. A carrot that has become limp because of water loss into the atmosphere can be placed into the water making it firm once again. Water will move into its cells through osmosis. When placed in water containing less than . % (mass/ volume) salt, blood cells swell due to flow of water in them by osmosis. People taking a lot of salt or salty food experience water retention in tissue cells and intercellular spaces because of osmosis. The resulting puffiness or swelling is called edema . Water movement from soil into plant roots and subsequently into upper portion of the plant is partly due to osmosis. The preservation of meat by salting and of fruits by adding sugar protects against bacterial action. Through the process of osmosis, a bacterium on salted meat or candid fruit loses water, shrivels and dies. The direction of osmosis can be reversed if a pressure larger than the osmotic pressure is applied to the solution side. That is, now the pure solvent flows out of the solution through the semi permeable membrane. This phenomenon is called reverse osmosis and is of great practical utility. Reverse osmosis is used in desalination of sea water. A schematic set up for the process is shown in Fig. . . When pressure more than osmotic pressure is applied, pure water is squeezed out of the sea water through the membrane. A variety of polymer membranes are available for this purpose. The pressure required for the reverse osmosis is quite high. A workable porous membrane is a film of cellulose acetate placed over a suitable support. Cellulose acetate is permeable to water but impermeable to impurities and ions present in sea water. These days many countries use desalination plants to meet their potable water requirements. . . Reverse Osmosis and Water Purification . Vapour pressure of pure water at