Filtration Systems Industry Information
About Filtration Systems and Filtration System Manufacturers
Including: Filtration, Filtration
Equipment, Oil Filtration & Water
Filtering Systems.
Filtration systems separate contaminants and unwanted
fluid and solid substances from fluid substances. Basic filtering systems
consist of a filter through which the contaminated fluid passes. The
filter media allows passage of the fluid, while preventing the contaminants
to pass. Filtration system products include strainers, liquid cartridges,
housings and filters, cartridge filters, bag filters, membranes and ultrapure
filters. Filtration systems can filter hydraulic and quench oil, diesel
fuel, machine tool coolant and numerous other industrial fluids. Industrial
filtration remains necessary to purify substances like air and water,
especially drinking water. Filtration system manufacturers are commonly
utilized by a number of industries: wastewater/sewage treatment, food
and beverage processing, automotive/trucking, agricultural, pharmaceutical,
chemical, mining and pulp and paper.
Filtration system manufacturers can make several different kinds of systems
for filtering water. Electrodialysis (ED) uses membranes to desalt or
electrically concentrate solutions by allowing passage of either the
positively or negatively charged ions, into which the salt was dissociated,
while excluding passage of ions of the opposite charge. The membranes
and other active surfaces have a tendency to become fouled or scaled.
Electrodialysis reversal (EDR) deals with this problem by reversing the
electrical current and exchanging the fresh product water and the concentrate
wastewater streams within the membrane stack many times per hour, removing
the fouling and scaling constituents from one cycle in the next. Reverse
osmosis (RO) is a cost-effective pretreatment for ion-exchange demineralization
that unloads 95-99% of dissolved salts, TOC and silica from the water
supply. RO is a multi-stage process in which cylindrical pressure vessels
house interconnected cellophane-like membrane elements with hole sizes
of less than .0002 microns, through which incoming dirty water is forced.
The first hydraulic stage yields about 50% recovery of product water,
the second 75% and the third about 85%, depending on concentrate chemistry.
Other filtration system methods include electrodeionization (EDI) and
ultrafiltration (UF) processes.
Other processes are used to treat various fluids. Vacuum filters, which
include drum, disc, horizontal belt, tilting and table filters, are simple,
reliable machines used in the chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries.
Vacuum filtration systems consist of a vacuum filter, one or two vacuum
receivers, one or two filtrate pumps, a vacuum pump and piping and instrumentation.
Pressure filters, not including rotary drum pressure filters, are semi-continuous
type machines that typically operate in batches (though continuous filters
are also available), which are fed from and discharged to a continuous
process, making necessary a surge tank upstream of the filter and a batch
collection of cake downstream. The rate of filtration depends on the
properties of slurry. Filterpresses consist of a head and a follower,
in between which is sandwiched vertical rectangular plates that are interconnected
by a continuous feed port. Filterpresses are used in applications where
the moisture content is necessarily low for thermal cake drying or incineration,
when high filtrate clarity is required for polishing applications, when
good cake release assisted by squeezing is needed, when the cake is disposed
as land fill for spreading and when large filtration areas are required
in a small space. Other filtration systems methods include rotary drum
pre-coat filters and thickeners.
When selecting filtration systems, consider contaminant particle
properties, such as size and shape, the filtration rate of the
filtration media and filter location. Chemical compatibility to
associated chemicals is also important. Other factors include the
viscosity and temperature of the solution and the load capacity of the
filter media. Filtration system manufacturers and suppliers will want a
definition of the slurry. Do the solids to be captured settle at a
reasonably high velocity and with efficiency? Is any part of the slurry
toxic, flammable or explosive, and is emulsified oil present? They will
also want to know about the process, as in if chemicals can be added to
enhance the separation and if solute recovery is important. Finally,
they will need to know if the solids output should be continuous or
batch, if it matters at all. Many filtration systems are designed for
general purposes, but filter requirements may differ.