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The membrane processes of most significance in water treatment are reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, microfiltration and nanofiltration. These processes have traditionally been applied to the production of water for industrial or pharmaceutical applications, but are now being applied to the treatment of drinking-water.

====High-pressure processes====

If two solutions are separated by a semipermeable membrane (i.e. a membrane that allows the passage of the solvent but not of the solute), the solvent will naturally pass from the lower-concentration solution to the higher-concentration solution. This process is known as osmosis. It is possible, however, to force the flow of solvent in the opposite direction, from the higher to the lower concentration, by increasing the pressure on the higher-concentration solution. The required pressure differential is known as the osmotic pressure, and the process is known as reverse osmosis.