Filter Media - Filtration News

I N T E R N A T I O N A L 

FILTRATION 

NEWS 

January/February 2010 

Volume 29 No. 1 

www.filtnews.com 

Your Global Source 

Sparklefilter ® 

by SpinTek 

Automatic Backpulse 

Removes Bacteria 

Continuously 

Industry Analysis: 

Filtration & Separation 

Industry Will Remain 

Vibrant and Grow 

Filter Media: 

Selecting a Nonwoven 

Filter Medium That Is Right 

for Your Application

IN THIS ISSUE 

January/February 2010, Volume 29, No. 1 

Industry | Analysis 

Filtration & Separation Industry Will Remain Vibrant and Grow 4 

Ceramic Fiber | Filter Media 

A Breakthrough in “In-Situ” Filter Cleaning 8 

Cover Story | SpinTek Filtration 

Automatic Backpulse - Safer Water Quality 12 

Filter Media | Nonwoven 

Selecting a Nonwoven Filter Medium That Is Right 

for Your Application 14 

Adsorption | Activated Carbons 

Removing PCBs From Groundwater Utilizing 

Activated Carbon 18 

Test Methods | Name Change 

GRPD Becomes GAED Sorbent Test Method 22 

Crossflow | Membranes 

Koch Membrane Systems Introduces New Lees 

Treatment in Wineries 24 

Waste | Recycling 

Turning Waste Oil Into Profit 28 

Industry | News 

TIGG Corporation Meets Methyl Bromide 

Recapture Standards Established by USA-QPS 30 

Racor Provides Replacement Elements for 

Blue Bird’s Cooper Air Cleaner 30 

Industrial Water Filters 31 

Sealant’s New See-Flo 1100 Improves Meter-Mix Dispense 33 

Industry | Events 

Emphasis on Liquids and Separations at AFSS Conference 32 

I N T E R N A T I O N A L 

FILTRATION 

January/February 2010 

Volume 29 No. 1 


NEWS 

Your Global Source 

Sparklefilter ® 

by SpinTek 

Automatic Backpulse 

Removes Bacteria 

Continuously 

Industry Analysis: 

Filtration & Separation 

Industry Will Remain 

Vibrant and Grow 

Filter Media: 

Selecting a Nonwoven 

Filter Medium That Is Right 

for Your Application 

Cover courtesy of 

SpinTek 

Design by Ken Norberg 

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2 • February 2010 • www.filtnews.com

Editorial Advisory Board 

Editorial Board Chairman 

Edward C. Gregor, Chairman 

E.C. Gregor & Assoc. LLC 

Tel: 1 704 442 1940 

Fax: 1 704 442 1778 

ecg@egregor.com 

M&A, Filtration Media 

Haluk Alper, President 

MyCelx Technologies Corp. 

Tel: 770.534.3118 

Fax: 770.534.3117 

alper@mycelx.com 

Oil Removal – Water and Air 

Peter S. Cartwright, PE 

Cartwright Consulting Co. 

cartwrightconsul@cs.com 

Membranes, RO, 

Ultrafiltration 

Wu Chen 

The Dow Chemical Company 

Tel: 1 979 238 9943 

Fax: 1 979 238 0651 

Process Filtration (liquid/gas) 

Equipment and Media 

Peter R. Johnston, PE 

Tel/Fax: 1 919 942 9092 

ddandp3@aol.com 

Test procedures 

Jim Joseph 

Joseph Marketing 

Tel/Fax: 1 757 565 1549 

josephmarketing@verizon.net 

Coolant Filtration 

Gerard J. Lynch, PE 

Sigma Design Co., LLC 

Tel: 1 973 912 7922 

Fax: 1 973 912 5244 

gjlynch@sigmadesign.net 

Filtration Machinery & 

Product Design 

Dr. Ernest Mayer 

DuPont Co. 

Tel: 1 302 368 0021 

Fax: 1 302 368 1474 

ernest.mayer@usa.dupont.com 

General Solid/Liquid Separations 

in All Areas 

Robert W. Mcilvaine 

Tel: 1 847 272 0010 

Fax: 1 847 272 9673 

mcilvaine@ 

mcilvainecompany.com 

www.mcilvainecompany.com 

Mkt. Research & Tech. Analysis 

Henry Nowicki, Ph.D. MBA 

Tel: 1 724 457 6576 

Fax: 1 724 457 1214 

Henry@pacslabs.com 

www.pacslabs.com 

Absorbent Testing 

and Training 

Brandon Ost, CEO 

Filtration Group 

High Purity Prod. Div. 

Tel: 1 630 723 2900 

bost@filtrationgroup.com 

Air Filters, Pharmaceutical 

and Micro-Electronic 

Dr. Graham Rideal 

Whitehouse Scientific Ltd. 

Tel: +44 1244 33 26 26 

Fax: +44 1244 33 50 98 

rideal@ 

whitehousescientific.com 

Filter and Media Validation 

Andy Rosol 

Global Filtration Products Mgr. 

FLSmidth Minerals 

andy.rosol@flsmidth.com 

Tel: 1 800 826 6461/1 801 526 2005 

Precoat/Bodyfeed Filter Aids 

Gregg Poppe 

The Dow Chemical Company 

Tel: 1 952 897 4317 

Fax: 1 942 835 4996 

poppeg@dow.com 

Industrial Water, Power, 

and Membrane Technology 

Tony Shucosky 

Pall Microelectronics 

Tel: 1 410 252-0800 

Fax: 1 410 252-6027 

tony_shucosky@pall.com 

Cartridges, Filter Media, 

Membranes 

Scott P. Yaeger 

Filtration and Separation 

Technology LLC 

Tel/Fax: 219-324-3786 

Mobile: 805-377-5082 

spyaeger@msn.com 

Membranes, New Techn. 

Wells Shoemaker 

Advisory Board 

Member Emeritus 

Dr. Bob Baumann 

Advisory Board 

Member Emeritus 

www.filtnews.com • February 2010 • 3


Filtration & Separation Industry 

Will Remain Vibrant and Grow 

By Wu Chen, Ph.D., Dow Chemical, Freeport, Texas, U.S.A. 

F 

iltration technology is used in 

all industries and households 

and is an important part of 

human life. The filtration and separation 

industry provides services and devices 

to meet these filtration needs. 

Since it covers such a wide applications 

spectrum, it is natural that this industry 

is very diversified, segmented and not 

well understood. Most of the work and 

industry analyses are focusing on certain 

market segments or technology. It 

is very difficult and seldom attempted 

to have a sensible analysis of the whole 

filtration and separation industry. 

THE BIGGER PICTURE 

Very often when people talk about 

filtration, they have filter media in 

mind. Although this thought is true in 

many cases, a lot can be missed. Filter 

media is crucial in a filtration process 

but there are also many separations carried 

without a filter medium. Even in 

true filtration processes, often the filter 

medium is only part of the whole unit. 

There are more components than just 

the filter media to make the filter work. 

Figure 1. Fluid/Particle Separation Technology 

When discussing the filtration industry, 

one needs to be aware of what is really 

in the so-called filtration world, and 

this needs to be discussed from three 

different aspects; technology, market 

segments and value chain. 

EVALUATION OF INDUSTRY 

It is customarily to use the term filtration 

to refer to the process of separating 

particles from a fluid stream. It 

is further divided into two distinct 

areas, air filtration and liquid filtration. 

Since a filter medium is not always 

used in separating particles from a fluid 

stream, the term of filtration is really 

limited to separation processes involving 

the use of separation septa. A better 

term, fluid/particle separation, should 

be used. Within fluid/particle separations, 

there are solid/liquid separations 

and solid/gas separations and each of 

them includes different technologies 1 , 

2 

(Figure 1). 

Solid/Gas Separation 

Solid/gas separation can be further 

divided into two major areas – filtration 

4 • February 2010 • www.filtnews.com 

and separation depending on whether a 

filter medium is used. As filtration is the 

dominant mechanism in solid/gas separation 

and most applications involve air, 

the term “air filtration” is often used to 

refer to this whole industry. 

There are two key filtration mechanisms, 

direct sieving and indirect interceptions. 

In direct sieving, the particles 

are larger than the openings of the filter 

medium and get filtered out. The more 

commonly encountered filtration 

mechanism in gas filtration is indirect 

interception where the particles are collected 

by the filter media by inertial impaction, 

diffusion (Brownian motion), 

interception, and electrostatic effects. 

In addition to filtration, there are also 

separation methods without filter 

media. These methods utilize inertia, 

electrostatic or centrifugal forces to 

achieve solid/gas separation. 

Solid/Liquid Separation 

Solid/liquid separation technology 

can also be divided into filtration and 

separation. Depending on the filtration 

mechanism, there are four sub-categories 

in liquid filtration. 

The simplest filtration 

mechanism is 

straining where particles 

are caught on the 

medium by direct sieving. 

Particles larger 

than the medium 

openings are filtered 

out. The second mechanism 

is cake filtration 

where the number of 

particles is high 

enough to form a particle 

bed called the filter 

cake. This cake 

becomes the primary

filter septum and the original filter 

medium is not as important in the particle 

capture. Sometimes the filter media 

are thick so the particles are caught inside 

the filter media. This type of filtration 

is called depth filtration. Very fine 

particles tend to form a dense cake and 

retard the filtration rate, in these cases 

cross flow filtrations are commonly 

used to keep the particles from forming 

a cake. This technique is used by most 

membrane filters since they are used to 

separate very fine particles. 

Beside filtration, solid/liquid separation 

can also be accomplished by gravitational 

or centrifugal forces where the 

particles are separated due to their density 

differences from the liquid phase. 

Different equipment and design considerations 

are used for these two mechanisms. 

Flotation, also utilizes 

gravitational force but the particles are 

made lighter than the liquid phase so 

they float to the top and are separated. 

There are other field-forces like magnetic 

and electrostatic forces used for 

separating particles from liquid streams. 

Unlike solid/gas separtion, the mechanisms 

of filtration and separation are 

equally used and none of the applications 

dominate solid/liquid separation. 

Therefore, the commonly used term of 

“liquid filtration” is not a good representative 

term for solid/liquid separation. 

The above brief discussion provides 

high lever overview of technologies 

used in the filtration and separation industry 

today. It can be seen that this industry 

covers a broad technology 

spectrum. Therefore, it is very difficult 

for any participant to engage in more 

than one technology area. Almost all of 

the companies in this industry focus 

on one or part of one technology area. 

In North America, very few companies 

are able to participate in multiple technology 

areas. One example is Pall, 

which is strong in straining type of liquid 

filtration technology but also participate 

in businesses involving cake 

filtration, cross flow filtration and gas 

filtration technologies. 

The trend will continue as large 

companies like Pall continue to expand 

their technology envelope. There will 

also be smaller companies who focus 

on part of a technology area and excel 

in that specific market. An example is 

the Oberlin Filter Company who focuses 

on one type of cake filters. 

EVALUATION BY MARKET SEGMENTS 

With broad application coverages in 

filtration and separation, it is not surprising 

that this industry is highly segmented. 

These market segments are 

most often categorized by applications. 

The detailed name and number of segments 

vary from analyst to analyst. The 

major commonly used segments will be 

briefly reviewed. 

Solid/Gas Separation (Air Filtration) 

This area involves removal of particulates 

from a gas stream. As air filtration 

has the most number of 

applications and highest volumes of 

sales, the term air filtration is commonly 

used by this industry. Its primary 

segments include: 

• HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and 

Air Conditioning) 

• HEPA/ULPA (High Efficiency 

Particulate Air/Ultra Low 

Penetration Air) 

• Power generation 

• Transportation (filtration for 



engine intake, exhaust and cabin air) 

• Vacuum cleaners 

• Medical 

• Military 

• Industrial dust control 

• Others 

The applications above are predominantly 

accomplished through filter 

media. Therefore, filter media plays the 

key role in the solid/gas separation 

arena. Although each segment has its 

own opportunity and development 

trend, the emphasis on filter media is 

universal among all segments. The common 

needs are to increase efficiency in 

particle removal, reduce pressure drop, 

and in the meantime, lower the cost. 

This trend has been in the past and will 

continue in the future. 

The use of membrane media is a 

major approach toward high efficiency 

filters. New material (like PTFE) gradually 

finds its place in the media market 

with its better performance in pore size 

control and chemical compatibility. Due 

to the high cost of membranes, meltblown 

technology is continually being 

improved to provide low-cost high efficiency 

media. The use of nano fibers are 

now on the rise and this may provide a 

proper middle point between meltblown 

and membrane media in terms of cost 

and filtration efficiency. 

Solid/Liquid Separation 

In solid/liquid separation applications, 

filtration is not the dominant 

mechanism. The utilization of filtration 

or separation (non-filtration) is about 

the same. The major industrial segments 

include: 

• Water treatment 

• Petro-chemicals 

• Food and beverage 

• Biopharmaceutical 

• Fuel 

• Electronics 

• Medical 

• Marine 

• Military 

• Transportation 

• Mining & Minerals 

• Others 

Figure 2. Value chain in 

the filtration and 

separation industry 

Similar to air filtration, the major development 

area in the liquid filtration 

arena is the media. The opportunities 

and trends are very similar to those in 

air filtration. One of the key differences 

between solid/liquid separation and 

solid/gas separation is that equipment 

and mechanical design are much more 

emphasized in solid/liquid separation 

arena. For example, in the biopharmaceutical 

and food & beverage industries, 

CIP (clean-in-place) is a must and 

effort is spent in improving that capability. 

This trend will continue. In membrane 

filtration, not only the membrane 

itself is the subject of improvement, but 

the module design to increase surface 

area, the vessel design to improve the 

controllability of crossflow and transmembrane 

pressure, and the seal design 

for different chemicals all present challenges 

and opportunities. 

Evaluation by Value Chain 

The size of the filtration and separation 

market is at least $20 - $30 billion 3 , 

4 

depending on how one analyzes the 

market and could be much larger if a 

broader value chain scope is considered. 

The fact that many market segments 

exist causes some discrepancies in the 

market analyses. The major confusion 

is probably coming from how one defines 

this industry’s boundary. Figure 2 

shows the value chain involved in the 

filtration and separation industry. A sensible 

market evaluation needs to have a 

clear definition of the scope included in 

the analyses. Many times, people only 


consider media producers and filter fabricators 

as the “filtration industry”, 

which is sufficient if interests are only 

in the fiber or media business. For a better 

understanding of this whole industry, 

it is worth while to look at the value 

chain in a bigger picture. 

The value chain starts with material 

supplies. This alone is a very large industry, 

which includes plastics 

(polypropylene, polyester, nylon, PTFE, 

etc.), metals (steel, stainless steel or 

other metals), adhesives (epoxy, 

polyurethane, etc.), and more. The filtration 

industry has not been putting a 

lot of effort into the improvement in 

this area since it may be quite involved 

to introduce a new material to the manufacturing 

process or market. It can also 

be due to a lack of awareness of the advances 

and opportunities in raw materials. 

With today’s progress in the 

chemical industry, there are great opportunities 

in plastic materials alone. 

There are technologies that allow plastics 

to have improved properties like 

higher temperature resistance, better 

chemical resistance, higher tensile 

strength, better removal efficiency for 

special substances like fine particles or 

allergens and lower melt viscosity to 

allow for order of magnitude faster 

speed in the media manufacturing. 

The next step in the value chain is 

the media producers, filter component 

producers or equipment parts producers. 

These are all essential parts of a filter 

or a separator. In the filtration and 

separation industry, the attention has

een in the media production as it is 

considered the core of the filtration. The 

industry for filter media itself has many 

segments and it takes a book to discuss 

them individually. Besides the general 

trend of developing higher efficiency, 

lower pressure drop and lower cost 

media, custom tailored media for specific 

applications to catch a niche market 

is also on the rise. One example is 

multifunctional media which can remove 

volatile organic compounds and 

odor as well as particulates. This kind 

of medium is especially useful in the automotive 

cabin air filter segment. 

Filter fabricators and equipment fabricators 

take the filter media and make 

the filter. While filters with different 

configurations can be made from the 

same media, the drive is to maximize the 

filtration area within the space constrain 

but maintain filtration efficiencies and 

operation capability. Frequently used approaches 

include the use of pleated 

media, multi-layer media, graded depth 

media structure and other innovative 

designs. For improving filtration efficiency, 

finer fibers or surface treatments 

are the general direction. For equipment 

fabricators (either for filters or separators), 

improvement in equipment design 

is focusing on material handling (like 

cake discharge, leak-by prevention) as 

well as better separation efficiency 

(higher electrostatic charge, longer lived 

electrostatic charge, higher centrifugal 

force, lower turbulences, etc.). 

Another important driver for more 

efficient filter media is government 

regulations. In the U.S., regulation has 

tightened the emission specifications 

from PM10 to PM2.5 (Particulate Matter 

smaller than 10 or 2.5 microns). 

This has impacted the emission filter 

design for power generation and created 

challenges and opportunities for 

filter bag suppliers. 

System integrators put ancillaries 

(pump, pipe, valves, controllers, etc.) 

together so the filter can function. In 

many applications, the “standard” system 

is provided. With the increasing 

demand in the market, especially in 

the solid/liquid separation market, 

suppliers need to be able to respond 

quickly and design systems for new or 

specific applications. 

Distributors play an important role 

between the end user and suppliers. 

Traditionally, they just distribute or sell 

but the trend in the past decade and for 

sure in the future is that the distributors 

will have a larger role as the field 

support for the filter suppliers and 

VOC (voice of customers) for the customers. 

They can even influence or 

control the trend of future development. 

Good examples are Walmart and 

Home Depot, with their high sales volumes; 

they set the standard and are influential 

in the Test Method definition. 

The end users are the actual consumers 

of the filter or separators. 

There are industrial users who normally 

place orders in large dollar 

amounts. There are also household 

users. Although the individual purchased 

quantity is small, the total 

number of domestic users outweighs 

any industrial users. 

None of the filters last forever and 

sooner or later they need to be replaced. 

The disposal of spent filter or 

related materials was seldom considered 

in the value chain since it is mixed 

with other waste/trash. With the growing 

awareness of environmental protection 

globally, there is a need to 

address the waste from spent filters or 

separators. This is already true in the 

industrial filtration processes. One of 

the major drives in the filtration industry 

today is to design longer life filters 

but there will still be plenty of 

waste to be disposed. Businesses relating 

to spent filter disposal will have 

opportunities in the future. 

ON THE HORIZON 

Some examples of challenges and 

opportunities in this industry can also 

be seen from the American Filtration & 

Separation Society Conference. This 

conference is devoted to the infrastructure 

and sustainability in the filtration’s 

growth markets. Key topics that have 

been discusses are: 

• Water - our lifeline and nature’s 

greatest resource 

• Water Reuse - saving precious 

resources 

• Ultrapure Air - commercial and 

industrial challenges 

• Health and the Environment 

www.filtnews.com • February 2010 • 7 

• Reusable and Extended Life Filters 

– eliminating/reducing waste 

• Challenges in Transportation 

• Energy and Power Generation 

• Filtration in Defense and 

International Security Issues 

These subjects may not be all inclusive 

but definitely provide a good view 

of the industrial trend in people’s mind. 

CONCLUSION 

There is no doubt the filtration and 

separation industry will remain a vibrant 

and growing4 industry. The challenges 

remain in its highly segmented markets 

and the difficulties in getting complete 

appreciation of its opportunities. An understanding 

from a bigger picture view 

of the whole industry will be a good start 

FN 

to get ahead in this industry. 

References 

1. American Filtration & Separation Society, 

“Filtration Basic Course - Basic Solid/Liquid 

Separation”, course note, Ann Arbor, MI (2007). 

2. American Filtration & Separation Society, 

“Filtration Basic Course - Basic Air Filtration”, 

course note, Ann Arbor, MI (2007). 

3. Rideal, G., “Filtration: the Marketplace,” 

Filtration & Separation, Sept. (2005) 

4. Sutherland, K., “Defining the Filtration 

Market,” Filtration & Separation, Mar. (2005)


A Breakthrough in “In-Situ” Filter Cleaning 

By Dick Nixdorf, President & CEO, Industrial Ceramic Solutions, LLC 

Figure 1. All ceramic fiber 

media at 300X magnification 


T 

oday’s global economy has 

placed industry in developed 

countries at a competitive 

disadvantage with developing countries 

in the areas of labor costs and 

environmental regulations. The answer 

to maintaining market share and 

reasonable profit margins is reducing 

manufacturing costs and minimizing 

environmental compliance expense. 

Industrial process efficiency improvements 

usually require higher operating 

temperatures. Lower emission 

control expenses require a need to replace 

outdated pollution control systems 

with innovative filtration technologies. 

Temperature dependent industrial 

manufacturing requires 

increasing the process exhaust temperature 

beyond the limits of the current 

cellulosic or polymeric filtration 

equipment. The standard solution in 

moving to a higher temperature exhaust 

is a thermal oxidizer system. 

This technology is similar to a catalytic 

converter on a car. A ceramic or 

metal honeycomb is coated with a 

precious metal catalyst that converts 

emissions to harmless gas products at 

a temperature above the catalyst reaction 

temperature. Most industrial 

process exhausts do not reach this 

catalyst reaction temperature. Therefore, 

additional heat must be added 

by burning large volumes of natural 

gas to increase the process exhaust 

stream to the catalyst reaction temperature 

as it passes through the ceramic 

honeycomb. These costs for 

natural gas can range from $100,000 

to $5 million/year, depending on the 

size of the exhaust stream. An additional 

penalty is high CO2 emissions. 

One answer to these high operating 

costs is a patented, dual-layer, wet-laid,

nonwoven ceramic fiber filtration 

media trademarked ThermoPore TM . 

HOW “IN-SITU” CLEANING WORKS 

This alternative, commercially 

available, ceramic fiber filter media 

and its ceramic frame components 

will operate to temperatures up to 

1,200˚C to accommodate high processing 

and exhaust temperatures. 

The filter media shown in Figure 1 is 

95% efficient at removing organic and 

carbonaceous particles down to 0.1 

microns. The ceramic filter media can, 

further, be coated with a precious 

metal catalyst to destroy all combustible 

hydrocarbons and VOC’s at 

temperatures above 400˚C. In circumstances 

where industrial exhaust 

steams operate below this temperature 

at the filtration equipment location, 

the ceramic fiber media can 

capture the particulate over a period 

of time, regardless of the exhaust temperature. 

When the filter cartridge(s) 

reach a designed particulate loading, 

as determined by backpressure measurements, 

the filter cartridge(s) are 

cleaned in a periodic mode to combust 

the captured particulate to a 

harmless CO2 and H2O gasses at an 

elevated temperature. The clean filter 

is then returned to its filtering task in 

the process stream. In many cases the 

filter cartridges can be individually 

cleaned, in place, without moving to a 

separate filter cleaning station. The 

natural gas expense required for this 

cleaning is less than 5% of that consumed 

by a thermal oxidizer. 

The preferred concept is to trap 

particulate over a long period of time 

without applying auxiliary heat to the 

exhaust stream, followed by cleaning 

at a high temperature for a short period. 

A typical operating sequence for 

a ceramic fiber cartridge emission system 

is filtration for eight hours, followed 

by a 30 minute high 

temperature cleaning cycle. The filter 

systems are designed to trap a given 

quantity of particulate to reach a designated 

backpressure. Upon reaching 

the selected backpressure, the cartridge 

assembly is exposed to a hightemperature 

cleaning cycle. During 

the cleaning cycle, the temperature of 

the filter cartridges is raised to the 

particulate oxidation state. The filter 

is cleaned. Any pollutant exhaust 

gases evolved from the filter system, 

during this cleaning cycle, are directed 

through an auxillary catalyst 

coated ceramic fiber exhaust chimney 

filter to assure that no hydrocarbons 

or VOC’s escape to the atmosphere. 

OTHER ADVANTAGES 

The ceramic fiber filter media is 

very efficient at removing particulate 

from the exhaust stream. There usually 

is no visible smoke from the plant 

exhaust. Figure 2 shows the efficiency 

of a filter cartridge servicing a 

high particulate diesel engine application. 

The light color bar is the particle 

count prior to the filter and the 

dark bars represent the particle count 



Figure 2. 98% particle removal efficiency in diesel exhaust based on particle diameter. 

after the ceramic fiber filter. 95% to 

99% particle removal efficiency is 

typical. Figure 3 illustrates the degrees 

of freedom in filter cartridge 

shapes. Ceramic fiber filter cartridges 

can be fabricated into any shape 

available to polymer fiber media cartridges, 

e.g. flat or round pleats. Filter 

systems can be designed to accommodate 

exhaust streams from 10 to 

250,000 cfm, with clean filter media 

backpressure at 0.3 inches of water. 

Therefore, ceramic fiber media can 

accommodate exhaust systems that 

demand a low backpressure from the 

filtration system. The weight of the 

filter cartridge is approximately 1/3rd 

that of competing ceramic honeycomb 

products. The weight benefit is 

a meaningful cost reduction of large 

systems. A complementary option is 

a secondary polymer fiber filter 

coated with a special organic absorbent 

material that will remove 

VOC’s after the ceramic fiber filter. 

THE APPLICATIONS 

The US EPA Clean Air Act of 1990 

and the emerging regulations from the 

California Air Resources Board are 

changing the requirements for commercial, 

industrial and vehicle exhaust 

emissions. The transition from 

PM10 to PM2.5 regulations will leave 

many exhaust emissions in a noncompliance 

situation. If the current 

Cap and Trade regulations become 

law, the established practice of using 

gas burners and thermal oxidizers will 

become more expensive. An energy 

efficient technology is needed to overcome 

these issues. The ceramic fiber 

filter media will comply with the 

PM2.5 regulations. It will reduce the 

operating expense of gas burner thermal 

oxidizers to less than 5% of their 

current operating costs. 

The following are four common enduse 

applications for in-situ cleaning: 

Figure 3. Pleated ceramic fiber filter cartridge size and shape is flexible. 


Thermal Oxidizers are used in 

most smoke, odor and VOC control 

applications in industry today. The ceramic 

fiber filter media can provide a

cost-effective replacement for many of 

these units. 

Coal-Fire Steam Plants currently 

comply with PM10 emission regulations. 

The existing equipment, such 

as scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators, 

need to be replaced to comply 

with PM2.5. Ceramic fiber filters provide 

PM2.5 filtration efficiency at 

lower capital and operating costs. 

Restaurant, Coffee Roaster and 

Volume Food Cooking Emissions are 

facing smoke and odor regulations in 

California and subsequently across 

the US. There is no reliable low-cost 

emission control system to bring these 

applications into compliance. 

Wood-Burning Boilers and Waste 

Oil Incinerators are a rapidly growing 

industry in colder climates in the 

Northeast and Midwest. Their emissions 

are a nuisance to the environment. 

However, their cost savings on 

energy bills is significant. Ceramic 

fiber filtration may provide a solution 

to their pollution problems. 

SUMMARY 

High-temperature ceramic fiber filtration 

products are now commercially 

available due to processing breakthroughs 

in binders, pleating and filter 

cartridge manufacturing technology. 

This product technology provides advantages 

in many existing manufacturing 

and new processing applications. 

The use of ceramic fiber filter systems 

opens previously unavailable hightemperature 

filter system design opportunities 

to application and process 

development engineers. The ceramic 

fiber filter technology also offers significant 

energy cost savings compared 

to existing emission control systems 

with high operating costs. 

FN 

Mr. Nixdorf is a material scientist at Industrial 

Ceramic Solutions experienced in converting 

new materials ideas to commercial products 

in exhaust emissions control systems. 

For more information contact: Dick Nixdorf 

Tel: 1-865-482-7552 Ext.2 

Email: rnixdorf@indceramics.com 

Website: www.indceramics.com 

Visit our website and online buyers’ guide: 



Cover Story | SpinTek Filtration 

Automatic Backpulse - Safer Water Quality 

By William A. Greene, President, SpinTek Filtration Inc. 

One of the most effective ways 

to clean a membrane drinking 

water system is to backflush 

the filter by sending the clean 

filtrate produced by the filter back 

through the membrane layer at a higher 

pressure than the feed pressure. 

Conventional filters use a resilient 

bladder configuration whose collapsible 

bladder can never produce more 

pressure than the feed pressure. This 

limiting factor prevents the constant 

pressure necessary for continual cleaning 

of bio-solids. 

Sparklefilter® is a high-flux yet compact 

proprietary drinking water system 

with an automatic backpulser that 

sends filtered water through the hollow 

fibers in reverse, flushing away all solids 

and biological contaminants. Its innovative 

anti-fouling technology uses 

“outside-in” hollow fiber membranes 

engineered for durability and burst 

strength to allow rigorous backflushing. 

HOW IT WORKS 

In the service mode, feed water enters 

the Sparkle system and passes 

through the prefilter and the hollow 

fibers; fills the filtrate chamber and 

exits as clean, fresh drinking water. In 

the backflush mode, the feed water 

pushes the “backpulser cup” and with 

the drain open, cleans the membrane 

module by reversing the filtrate flow. 

Sparkle’s anti-fouling technology creates 

reverse flow pressure that remains 

constant during the cleaning cycle because 

of the unique design of dual nonresilient 

collapsible chambers (DNC2). 


This ability to produce amplified pressure 

provides a distinct advantage over 

conventional resilient bladder filters by 

allowing consistent backflushing every 

time. The integral prefilter reduces 

fouling, simplifying the system and 

eliminating additional plumbing. And, 

for added water storage, a pressurized 

bladder can be added. 

While Sparkle will remove all bacteria 

and suspended solids that are 

very small in size, the performance of 

the filter is enhanced by an integral 

pre-filter for solids removal. In addition, 

other filters or absorbers can be 

added for specific contaminant removal 

such as arsenic, chlorine, mercury, 

etc., depending upon location 

and feed water make-up. 

The system is versatile and price

competitive and can be used effectively 

anywhere in the world: residential 

drinking water, whole-house 

filtration, industrial applications, or 

as a stand-alone in rural areas and developing 

countries with no external 

power source. 

PRINCIPLE OF THE SPARKLE DNC2 

The backflush side of the system’s 

pressure amplifier has a 150- 

percent-larger area than 

the filtrate side, so 

when a water pressure 

of 40 psig is applied to 

the backflush side it creates 

a backflush pressure 

of 60 psig. The ratio in 

the chambers can be tailored 

to specific membranes 

and specific 

applications. The feed 

water pressure creates a continuous 

force applied to the 

backflush side of the pressure 

‘cup’ and stays constant, so the pressure 

of water driven backward through the 

membrane stays constant. This continues 

until the entire volume of backflush 

water has been completely used and the 

feed chamber is completely collapsed or 

the cycle is stopped. 

Sparkle’s pressure amplifier design 

eliminates the problem of feed water 

pressure variances–the membrane is 

continually provided with enough 

backflush pressure. The backflush pressure 

is always at a fixed ratio greater 

than the feed water based upon the sizing 

of the filtrate and backflush areas of 

the cup. While the backpulse design 

provides specific amounts of water 

each time, additional backflush water 

is available on demand. 

CONCLUSION 

When reverse backflush pressure is 

constant and greater than feed pressure, 

membrane filters clean more efficiently 

and last longer. With backflush 

pressure always lower than feed pressure, 

conventional resilient bladder 

configurations lack the pressure 

needed for continuous cleaning of biosolids. 

Sparkle’s proprietary pressure 

amplifier design solves this problem 

with a larger surface area backflush 

chamber than the filtrate chamber, 

plus a backpulser “cup” providing consistent 

flow of backflush water during 

the entire cleaning cycle. The result is 

steady backflush pressure 

throughout the entire cleaning 

cycle, providing constant 

and efficient 

contaminant removal. 

Sparklefilter is manufactured 

by SpinTek 

Filtration Inc., specializing 

in engineered solutions 

for industrial, 

commercial and oily 

wastewater applications. 

The company offers ultrafiltration 

(UF) tubular 

membrane modules and systems 

and compact rotary membrane 

systems (ST-II) using 

stainless steel membranes for 

harsh nuclear or wastewater applications. 

The company designs and 

manufactures solvent extraction (SX) 

media filters and CoMatrix® coalescers 

for copper, nickel and zinc mining operations, 

as well as oil field and refinery 

applications worldwide. 

FN 

For more information contact: 

SpinTek Filtration Inc. 

10863 Portal Drive • Los Alamitos, CA 90720 

Tel: 1-714- 236-9190 

Website: www.spintek.com 



Selecting a Nonwoven Filter Medium 

That Is Right for Your Application 

By Raj Shah, Global Marketing Leader, Polymers, Pall Corporation 

N 

onwoven filter media is a 

generic term that includes a 

wide variety of filtration and 

separation media. It can include all 

media based on various separation 

properties such as electrostatic media, 

coalescing media, adsorptive media, 

and antimicrobial media. It can also include 

media based on various raw materials 

such as natural plant and animal 

fiber forms, polymers, metals, binders, 

or additives, to name a few. 

For the purpose of this article, the 

nonwoven filter media discussed is 

solely sintered metal random fiber 

media. Sintered metal random fiber 

media is used extensively in a variety of 

liquid and gas service applications 

where high strength, high temperature 

resistance, corrosion resistance, noncompressibility, 

and cleanability are desired. 

This article is focused on 

discussing the sintered metal random 

fiber media used in high-viscosity polymer 

melt filtration applications. 

The primary purpose for polymermelt 

filtration is to remove hard contamination 

as well as soft particles such 

as gels or undissolved polymer. The 

particle size distribution for both the 

hard and soft contamination is largely 

unknown and depends on many factors 

such as feedstock quality, feedstock filtration, 

catalyst, additives, process stability, 

etc. In the case of soft particles 

such as gels, the size may not only vary 

widely, but can also change continuously 

as polymer shearing and gel 

shearing occur with the rise in differential 

pressure across the filter system. 

Thus, there is a need for a filter 

medium that is not classifying in nature 

and can remove a wide range of contaminants 

(both size and type) in most 

polymer melt filtration applications. 

The filter medium should be able to not 

only remove but also retain the removed 

contamination in its depth matrix 

without shedding as differential 

pressure rises. A multi-layered random 

fiber-type nonwoven filter medium is 

best suited to achieve this (Figure 1). 

Identifying and selecting the right 

media from the many choices that are 

available is critical to matching the right 

filter to the application. This article aims 

to address this important media selection 

process. While selecting a nonwoven 

medium appears to be an art, there 

is a scientific and methodical approach 

that can be applied with the proper understanding 

of the following: 

1) The manufacturing process 

involved in making a nonwoven 

filter medium 

2) Various properties required from 

a typical medium (output) 

3) Parameters available to the filter 

medium designer (inputs) 

THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS 

The manufacturing of a sintered 

metal random fiber media begins with 

the drawing of wires of various diameters. 

Wires of different sizes are first 

drawn from a metal rod and then 

processed to turn them into fibers of 

different sizes. These fibers are then airlaid 

to form a web layer. Depending on 

the formulation, multiple layers of fiber 

webs consisting of the same or different 

fiber sizes are laid on top of one another 

to form a multi-layer matrix. This 

matrix is then sintered multiple times 

at high temperatures in different types 

of furnaces. Frequent checks during the 

manufacturing process are made to ensure 

a media of consistent quality and 

target properties is produced. Media 

made from the same size fibers has a 

symmetric pore structure, while media 

made from varying fiber sizes has an 

asymmetric pore structure (Figures 2 

and 3). For most polymer applications, 

an asymmetric filter media with a reducing 

pore structure is preferred as it 

provides the highest possibility of retaining 

soft contamination like gels. 

Figure 1. Removal efficiency of woven vs. non-woven media 

PROPERTIES 

A few of the key properties (outputs) 

for random fiber-type filter media include: 


their removal rating and the test conditions (single pass 

vs. multiple pass), as well as the retention efficiency at various 

percentages. The removal rating is directly related not 

only to the end quality of the fluid being filtered, but also 

to how the medium interacts with the catalysts and various 

additives. 

Figure 2. Nonwoven filter 

media made with different size 

fibers resulting in an asymmetric 

pore geometry 

Figure 3. Nonwoven filter 

media made from same size 

microscopic fibers resulting in 

symmetrical pore geometry 

Efficiency – “Efficiency” is the most critical performance 

data to consider when comparing two different filter media. Efficiency 

data clearly identifies the capability of the medium to 

remove and retain particulate, under specified test conditions. 

It is a common practice to compare filter media based on micron 

ratings instead of removal efficiency. However, such practice 

is flawed as it does not indicate the degree of efficiency for 

the rating and allows for wide variance in filter performance of 

different filters having the same micron rating. 

Ideally, filter media should be compared according to 

Permeability - Simply put, “permeability” is the ease with 

which the fluid will pass through a porous medium. The 

pressure drop is inversely proportional to the permeability 

of the filter medium. A medium with high permeability is, 

therefore, desirable. 

Porosity - “Porosity” (commonly confused with permeability) 

is the ratio of the void volume in a filter medium to 

its total volume. It relates to the dirt-holding capacity of a 

filter medium. Pressure drop is inversely proportional to the 

porosity of the filter medium. 

Dirt-holding Capacity - “Dirt-holding capacity” is the 

mass of contamination that a filter can hold before reaching 

the maximum allowable pressure drop. It is directly proportional 

to the porosity. A medium with high dirt-holding capacity 

is desirable, as it will stay onstream longer. 

Strength - All metal media is expected to withstand rigorous 

cyclical conditions during process and cleaning stages. 



All sintered metal-type random fiber 

media is porous and, therefore, compressible 

to a certain extent. However, 

the compressibility between two nonwoven 

fiber media of different suppliers 

can vary greatly. The reason for this 

difference is a result of the fiber design, 

media design, and manufacturing technique, 

which can greatly influence the 

compression resistance over the life of 

the filter media. 


PARAMETERS 

Fiber sizes - When fibers are laid 

over each other, they are randomly dispersed 

in a plane parallel to the 

medium surface and form pores of irregular 

shapes. Smaller pores are 

formed when a nonwoven media is 

made from fibers of smaller diameters. 

An asymmetrical media (made from 

different-sized fibers) will have more 

fibers of a smaller diameter than a symmetrical 

media (made from fibers of the 

same size), given that the basis weight 

and porosity of the two mediums are 

the same. Thus, a smaller pore size is 

achievable by manipulating the fiber 

sizes in the formulation. 

Fiber layers - If the fiber geometry 

and fiber dispersion are uniform, then 

the number of fiber layers is directly related 

to the medium basis weight. A 

medium of higher basis weight or more 

fiber layers will typically have a smaller 

effective pore size and, thus, more resistance 

to flow. This is because the irregularly 

shaped pores offset each other 

in position and orientation among different 

fiber layers. Thus, the higher the 

number of fiber layers, the higher the 

basis weight and the lower the permeability. 

As a result, pore size and permeability 

can be manipulated by 

controlling fiber layers and basis weight 

at the design stage. 

Tortuosity - Fluid “tortuosity” is defined 

as the length of the fluid flow 

path divided by the thickness of the filter 

media. The higher tortuosity in random 

fiber media is a result of the high 

porosity and the tapered-pore geometry 

unlike other nonwoven medium, 

where either the porosity is reduced or 

thickness is increased to achieve high 

tortuosity. Designing higher tortuosity 

without having to reduce the porosity 

or increase the media thickness eliminates 

the possibility of polymer shearing 

while it flows through the filter 

medium. 

Manufacturing techniques - There 

are many parameters involved in the 

various steps of fiber drawing, webbing, 

sintering, calendaring, and testing 

of filter media. Controlling these parameters 

is critical to influencing the 

properties of the required fiber media. 

SUMMARY 

To select the best nonwoven media 

for an application, an understanding 

of the properties of the filter material 

is necessary. With an understanding

Figure 4. 

Conventional 

pleated filter 

element construction 

Figure 5. Uniform 

flow distribution 

of an 

Ultipleat filter 

of the various media properties, it becomes 

easier to define the target 

properties (output) required in a 

nonwoven filter medium. These 

properties can be translated into specific 

parameters (inputs) only when 

a producer has the ability to understand 

the science, and the capability 

to successfully manufacture the basic 

building blocks such as fiber design, 

fiber manufacturing, and formulation 

design. Thus selecting the proper 

nonwoven fiber media requires one 

to look beyond the traditional micron 

rating and into the various 

properties of the media, as well as 

the manufacturing capability and experience 

of the media producer. A 

company like Pall that is dedicated 

strictly to filtration and separation 

solutions and which makes its own 

fibers, formulations, medium, elements, 

and systems is best suited to 

custom engineer a nonwoven media 

for the unique filtration applications 

required in polymer melt processes. 

Pall’s sintered metal fiber media is 

available in flat sheet form as well as 

in many geometries such as flat 

packs, pleated packs, leaf discs, and 

pleated candle filters that are used 

extensively in polymer production 

processes. Using metal fiber medium 

in a pleated candle form remains the 

most common filtration method for 

various synthetic fiber producers in 

the world. Pall has combined its custom-engineered, 

nonwoven media 

with its revolutionary Ultipleat® 

candles (featuring wave-shaped 

pleats) to deliver the most cost-effective 

filtration solution to date 

(Figures 4 and 5). Ultipleat candles 

offer up to a 50% increase in filter 

area over conventional candles, 

which reduces operation costs by extending 

the on-stream life of the candle 

and reducing the size of the filter 

system. Challenging applications 

such as dope-dyed yarns, where a 

master batch typically causes rapid 

plugging of filters and greatly reduces 

on-stream filter life, is one of 

many applications where Pall’s custom-engineered 

media and Ultipleat 

candles are effectively used. 

Pall Corporation offers a wide 

range of metal fiber and other nonwoven 

metal filter media that caters 


to numerous applications in both liquid 

and gas environments. Its sintered 

metal random fiber-type media 

is available in various grades of stainless 

steel as well as many exotic alloys 

such as Hastelloy, Inconel, 

FN 

and Monel, to name a few. 


Pall Corporation 

25 Harbor Park Drive 

Port Washington, NY 11050 

Tel: +1 516 484 3600 

Tel: (toll free U.S.) +1 888 873 7255


Removing PCBs From Groundwater 

Utilizing Activated Carbon 

By Jeff Marmarelli and John Sherbondy, TIGG Corporation, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 

F 

or about 50 years polychlorinated 

biphenyls (PCBs) were 

commonly used in industrial 

materials including, caulking, cutting 

oils, inks, paints and as dielectric fluids 

in electrical equipment such as transformers 

and capacitors. Concerns over 

health effects lead to a North American 

ban of manufacturing PCBs in 1977. By 

the mid 1980’s an initiative was started 

to clean up contaminated areas and to 

phase out PCB containing equipment 

and products that were still in use. This 

cleanup effort continues today. 

Careless disposal practices and accidental 

discharges in the past contribute 

to the present amount of PCBs in 

groundwater and in sediments of rivers 

and lakes. Growing public and government 

concern over health hazards has 

lead to new practices to safely remove 

and dispose of PCBs. Residual contamination 

has been effectively treated 

using systems utilizing activated carbon 

adsorption media. 

Activated carbon is widely used for 

the adsorption of many contaminants 

from liquid, air streams. The activated 

carbon is produced from carbonaceous 

organic substances including bituminous 

coal, coconut shell, lignite, bone, 

wood and other materials. It is used in 

many applications including the production 

of foods, decolorization of liquids 

such as recycling of glycol, and 

trace contamination removal from air. 

Adsorption results from a physical 

process in which layers of atoms or 

molecules of one substance are attracted 

on to the surface structure of 

another substance. Activated carbon’s 

extremely high surface area within its 

extensive pore structure makes it an 

ideal adsorbent. One pound of activated 

carbon has the surface area equivalent 

to six football fields. 

Activated carbon exhibits a graphitic 

plate structure, and one may liken the 

formation of adsorption surfaces to a 

box of peanut brittle, with the highest 

energy adsorption sites formed at the 


intersections of the plates (Figure 1). 

The iodine number is used as a general 

measurement of the surface area of the 

activated carbon. These numbers generally 

range from 900-1100 for higher 

quality carbons. 

Activated carbons tend to adsorb organic 

compounds with increasing affinity 

as adsorbate (the material being 

adsorbed) molecular weight, boiling 

point, and refractive index increase and 

as solubility decreases. Thus, activated 

carbon has a high affinity for PCBs due 

to their high molecular weight, high indices 

of refraction, and very low solubilities. 

PCBs have a very large 

molecular structure and for effective 

adsorption will require an activated carbon 

with a compatible pore size. Different 

base materials will yield different 

pore structures. For example, coalbased 

carbon has a pore structure that 

will better accommodate these types of 

molecules as compared to coconutbased 

carbon. Coconut-based carbons 

are more suited to smaller molecular 

weight compounds with low boiling 

points and, therefore, are not as effec- 

Figure 1: Carbon plates 



Figure 2: Isotherm for PCB molecule 

tive in this application compared to a 

quality coal-based carbon. 

The surface loading of adsorbate on 

activated carbon varies with the concentration 

and conditions in the fluid 

stream. In order to evaluate the economic 

potential of an application, the 

activated carbon isotherms can be developed 

for the particular 

compound 

at a given set of 

conditions. Many 

isotherms are already 

available for 

various compounds 

including PCBs. 

They can be obtained 

from carbon 

manufacturers, purifications 

companies 

and EPA 

literature. They can 

also be developed 

in the lab using 

simple procedures. 

Figure 2 illustrates 

an isotherm 

for a PCB molecule 

with one chlorine 

atom on TIGG 5D 

1240 coal-based activated 

carbon. As 

with any testing, 

these isotherms are 

performed under 

controlled laboratory 

conditions. 


Actual performance in the field can be 

affected by any number of factors associated 

with the treatment system. 

When dealing with PCB contaminated 

groundwater, the solubility of the 

PCB isomers molecules in the water can 

typically range 20-60ppb with solubilities 

generally below 1 ppm. Above these 

levels the PCB’s will be found as free 

product. As illustrated by the isotherm, 

PCBs are readily adsorbed by activated 

carbon, with the example of the PCB isomer 

with only one chlorine atom (the 

lowest affinity for all PCB isomers) showing 

excellent loading on the carbon, even 

at 1 ppb levels. The result is that effluent 

levels below 1ppb are achievable. 

Treatment of this water is dependant 

not only on keeping the carbon “clean” 

for proper kinetic transference of the molecules, 

but also the contact time allowed 

for the adsorption to take place. Field experiences 

has shown that often under turbid 

conditions the PCB levels in the 

effluent after the carbon adsorbers can be 

as high as 3-5ppb. The reason for the 

higher than expected levels in the effluent 

is that the PCBs will attach themselves 

to colloidal material in the water or any 

carbon fines and pass through the bed 

without being adsorbed. In order to decrease 

these residual levels upstream and 

downstream filtration is required. Typi-

Figure 3: Typical PCB removal system. (Varies according to specific applications.) 

cally a 5-10 micron bagfilter is installed 

prior to the carbon bed and a 0.5-micron 

bag filter is installed after the carbon bed, 

prior to discharge. These processes remove 

most suspended solids that may be 

entering the carbon and essentially “plugging” 

the bed of the carbon thus limiting 

adsorption, and capturing any solids that 

may be making their way through to the 

effluent. In addition to the pre- and postfiltration 

of the carbon bed, the carbon 

bed needs to be properly sized. Both the 

bed surface area and the carbon bed depth 

affect the efficiency of removal. About 

seven to eight minutes empty-bed contact 

time (EBCT, or time to pass fluid through 

a give actual volume of carbon present as 

a theoretically open volume) is optimal 

for proper adsorption. Typically, a minimum 

of three feet carbon bed depth is required. 

The surface area is typically 

designed to promote a superficial velocity 

of four to six gallons per minute per 

square foot. Slower velocities can be used 

but very low velocities should be avoided 

as this may promote the occurrence of 

channeling, or the liquid seeking a path 

of least resistance through the carbon bed, 

resulting in poor distribution (Figure 3). 

Overall, activated carbon adsorption is 

an effective way of reducing PCB contamination 

in groundwater. Successful results 

can be achieved with a properly 

designed system that addresses both prefiltration 

and post-filtration, along with 

proper carbon selection and bed design 

parameters including bed surface area, 

depth and contact time. 

FN 

For more information contact: TIGG Corporation 

1 Willow Avenue, Oakdale, PA 15071 

Tel: 1-800-925-0011 x101 or 1-724-703-3020 x101 

Fax: 1-724-703-3026 

Websites: 

www.TIGG.com or www.TIGGtanks.com 


Test Methods | Name Change 

GRPD Becomes GAED Sorbent Test Method 

By Henry Nowicki, George Nowicki and Barbara Sherma, PACS 

A 

nalytical test methods are 

used to evaluate sorbents before 

purchase, monitor their 

performance for regulatory compliance 

to determine when they need to be 

changed and develop new sorbents and 

applications. The world of analytical 

chemistry has had major advancements 

over the last two decades, which are 

beneficial for activated carbon users and 

manufacturers. Measurements are now 

routinely provided at (PPB) micrograms 

per liter instead of (PPM) milligrams 

per liter. With available lower quantitative 

detection level measurements, 

greater demands have been placed on 

the sorbents used to treat water and air 

streams to reduce contaminants. 

Perhaps the best analytical instrument 

to come along for sorbent evaluations 

has been put together by Dr. 

Mick Greenbank. This instrumental 

method provides the sorbents 

isotherms for organic compounds, 

which are physically adsorbed. 

Isotherms is a plot of the compounds 

equilibrium concentration on the x- 

axis, in water or air, against the compounds 

adsorption loading on the 

sorbent in grams per 100 grams or 

100 milliliter of volume of the sorbent 

on the y-axis. 

Choosing a name for a product, disease, 

service, or child is an important 

task. Just consider the recent billiondollar 

loss to the pork industry by calling 

H1N1 the 

swine flue. 

Pork industry 

representatives 

lobbied for a 

name change to 

H1N1, on the 

grounds that 

there is no evidence 

linking 

the spread from 

pigs to humans 

and also to prevent 

a misconception 

that 

pork products 

could transmit 

the disease. 

One consideration 

for a 

brand name is 

that it should 

be reflective 

and understandable 

by 

the targeted 

market users. 

This is why we 

have chosen to 

rename “Gravimetric 

Rapid 


Pore Size Distribution” to “Gravimetric 

Adsorption Energy Distribution.” 

The basis for the GRPD to GAED 

name change include: 

• Users of the test method are not 

easily understanding the testing 

technology 

• Its full value opportunity for users 

is not being applied method name 

is not reflective of current market 

demands 

• Use of the word “pore” whereas 

original developer used adsorption 

space 

• New name better positions us to 

do the homework on the 1914 

article celebrating the 100th 

anniversary of the original Polanyi 

heterogeneous adsorption model. 

One more name change is expected 

when this testing technology is fully 

commercialized with an advanced instrument 

for the sorbent industry. 

Presently there are only three of these 

instruments in the world. 

The authors have previously published 

here [International Filtration 

News] to demonstrate the practical applications 

for the testing technology. A 

series of new applications for GAED instrumentation 

will be presented at upcoming 

technical conferences and the 

plan is to publish these articles here 

again later in 2010. 

Presently PACS Laboratories and the 

testing community provide many more 

Iodine and Butane activity test runs 

than GAED full characterization test 

runs. Even though the Iodine and Butane 

tests provide limited information 

they are still the most requested test 

methods. A major limitation of these 

popular tests for activated carbons 

users is that these two tests are conducted 

with the challenge chemical 

near its water and air saturation concentrations. 

Iodine activity for water

applications is tested near its water saturation 

and Butane for vapor-phase applications 

is near its saturation level. 

Challenging activated carbon with a 

contaminant near its saturation concentration 

does not represent most activated 

carbon user applications. 

Most modern activated carbon user 

problems consist of contaminants in 

water or air at much lower than their 

saturation concentration. When contaminants 

are near saturation nearly all 

of the carbon’s adsorption energy sites 

will satisfy and fill-up with the contaminant. 

However, when the contaminants 

are well below saturation 

concentration only the activated carbons 

high adsorption energy sites with 

sufficient adsorption energy will takeup 

and hold contaminant. The lower 

adsorption energy sites will not take-up 

contaminant. Since all activated carbons 

are not the same users need to 

purchase those with the highest number 

of adsorption energy sites needed 

for their application. 

GAED runs provide sorbent adsorbate 

challenge over seven orders of 

concentrations, ranging from trace 

level to near saturation. Thus, GAED 

provides activated carbon users critical 

information about activated carbon 

performance at the users real-world 

problem concentrations. GAED provides 

the users needed isotherms to determine 

contaminant loading capacity 

and how much activated carbon will be 

needed to solve the problem. 

Historically GAED (when it was 

named GRPD) has been used to provide 

the best activated carbons for users. 

Prior work has shown that 9 carbons 

provided essentially the same Iodine 

number and BET surface areas, but 

GAED revealed the two best carbons to 

solve the activated carbon users municipal 

drinking water plants problem. 

They were also the lower cost suppliers. 

Typically drinking water plants have 

a few regulated compounds, or some 

taste and odor compounds problems, 

which need to be removed. GAED is 

designed to facilitate these kinds of low 

level compound problems. The ASTM 

and GAED test methods are complimentary. 

Both need to be used. 

Users of activated carbons are now 

putting GAED test requirements into 

their purchasing specifications as well 

as ASTM test methods. Most manufacturers 

have run their product-line 

through GAED test runs. So users can 

request information from their suppliers 

to help make decisions. 

We are now convinced there are 

firms who would purchase GAED instruments. 

The basis for this opinion is 

requested quotations and other levels 

of interest to have available GAED instruments 

and service providers. Providing 

GAED instruments on a global 

basis is expected to help manufacturers 

to better produce sorbent media products 

to solve modern problems, now 

waiting for appropriate sorbents. 

The future projection is that advancements 

in analytical chemistry will 

continue to play a large role in the continuation 

of providing highly purified 

drinking water from municipal plants 

to point-of-use applications. 

FN 


Professional Analytical and Consulting 

Services, Inc. (PACS) 

Tel: 1-724-457-6576 

Website: www.pacslabs.com 



Koch Membrane Systems Introduces 

New Lees Treatment in Wineries 

By David Akin, Salvatore Napodano and Kamla Jevons, Koch Membrane Systems 

T 

reatment and product recovery 

from wine lees, the sludge-like 

sediment left behind when wine 

or juice is transferred from one tank to another, 

is one of the biggest challenges facing 

the wine industry. The desire to 

minimize winery waste volume, coupled 

with legislation that limits the disposal of 

unwanted by-products, has made the lees 

issue even more important to producers. 

Koch Membrane Systems (KMS) 

crossflow membrane filtration (CMF) 

technology has led to an improved 

method for recovering valuable wine and 

juice from lees. This novel process entirely 

eliminates the need for diatomaceous 

earth (DE) and other filter aids currently 

used with traditional recovery techniques. 

Crossflow microfiltration membranes 

configured in a multi-tube modular 

geometry are ideal for clarifying lees. The 

tubular design is well suited for processing 

streams that contain high levels of suspended 

solids such as juice and wine lees. 

Wineries using CMF systems are recovering 

wine of higher quality and therefore 

higher value when compared to 

traditional systems. Higher value wine 

plus significant annual operating cost savings 

are providing wineries with an attractive 

return on their investment. 

During the winemaking process, insoluble 

solids are generated that have to 

be removed before bottling. These solids 

include fine fruit particles, tartrate salts, 

spent yeast, bacteria and soil, and debris 

carried over with 

the fruit. Also, fining 

agents are frequently 

added to 

the wine, and contribute 

to the volume 

of settled 

solids. Fining 

agents may include 

bentonite, 

gelatin, silicasol, 

albumin, activated 

carbon, and 

polyvinylpolypyrrolidone 

(PVPP). 

All of these 

solids eventually 

settle by gravity 

into a sludge-like 

material that is 

generically called 

lees. Wine producers 

generally 

classify lees into 

two categories: 

“sweet lees,” also 

commonly called 

“must lees;” and 


“fermented lees,” also known as “wine 

clarifier lees.” Sweet lees are the settled 

solids typically found in white grape juice 

and often are further processed to gain 

higher yields, while fermentation lees 

consist of all sediment remaining after fermentation 

and fining. On average, about 

10 percent of the initial volume is removed 

as lees, which still contain a high 

percentage of recoverable juice or wine. 

Wine recovered from lees using traditional 

techniques – rotary vacuum or 

plate filters – often is of low quality and 

may require further processing before 

being blended into a usable product. 

Lees are often accumulated from several 

batches of wine before being clarified in 

order to maximize the efficiency of traditional 

recovery. These older processes 

can result in oxidation of wine and yield 

loss and higher operating costs. 

When using newer crossflow membrane 

filtration technology, producers 

can efficiently recover quality wine from 

the lees that is comparable to wine filtered 

on the main wine crossflow filtration 

system. The automated or manual 

CMF equipment is simple to use, less 

labor intensive, and increases yield while 

reducing by-product disposal costs. 

Most wineries employ some means to 

get the maximum recovery from juice 

“must.” The typical methods of separation 

include rotary vacuum drum filters, 

centrifugation, and plate and frame filters. 

The recovered juice is unfermented and is 

usually recombined with the racked juice 

without affecting the must quality. 

Once the must is fermented into 

wine, microbiological activity ceases and 

sediment collects on the tank bottom. If 

there is sufficient time, a very clear wine 

will result with very compact lees. However, 

this is seldom the case because 

wineries usually need to use the tanks 

for other batches and the wine is typically 

racked prematurely, resulting in

elatively low-solids lees that contain a 

significant amount of valuable wine. 

This wine is difficult to recover from the 

lees, and is frequently discarded by small 

wineries. Larger wineries seeking to 

maximize yield normally use the same 

DE filtration devices that are used for 

must lees for further recovery. 

In most cases, wines recovered using 

these filters are of inferior quality and 

can, at best, be used to blend into low 

quality, low priced wines. This is due to 

the long contact time with oxygen and 

the flavors imparted by DE, as well as 

some of the “yeasty” characteristics 

from fermentation. Much of this wine 

requires further processing, and ends 

up as a base for products such as wine 

coolers and flavored wine products. 

Crossflow membrane technology 

uses highly engineered, semi-permeable 

physical barriers that permit the 

passage of desired constituents based 

on size, shape or character. Membranes 

are available in a variety of 

configurations, materials and sizes. 

With crossflow membrane technology, 

a feed stream is introduced into the 

membrane module under pressure 

and flows over the membrane surface 

in a controlled operating mode. The 

selective barrier of the membrane separates 

the feed into a permeate and a 

retentate stream, both of which may 

be of value. While used for numerous 

purposes in many industries, membrane 

filtration in wine production is 

most commonly used to remove suspended 

solids and turbidity while allowing 

the passage of color, ethanol, 

flavor and aroma components. Other 

membrane applications for wine and 

juice include sugar concentration in 

must, volatile acid (VA) and alcohol 

adjustment, and color concentration 

and standardization. 

Polymeric crossflow membranes, 

the types most often used in wine applications, 

vary depending upon the 

separation requirement and are provided 

in a number of different configurations 

including hollow fiber, spiral 

wound and tubular. Membrane porosity 

also varies with the application; the 

tightest is reverse osmosis (RO), 

through nanofiltration (NF), then ultrafiltration 

(UF) and finally, the most 

open, microfiltration (MF) 

CMF, while relatively new, is an industry-accepted 

technology for wine 

filtration. However, until recently, the 

only method for wine and juice recovery 

from lees has been the use of traditional 

DE filtration techniques. 

Polymeric tubular membranes are often 

used for fluids with very high concentrations 

of particulate matter and, when 

constructed in a sanitary geometry, are 

ideal for lees processing. When CMF 


for wine clarification and recovery of 

wine and juice from lees are used together 

in a winery, the result is higher 

quality wine and higher yields. Figure 

1 shows an example of a typical crossflow 

microfiltration process for wine 

and lees filtration. All steps are lowpressure 

(10-100 psig) processes that 

retain the suspended solids and pass 

all dissolved material below an average 

pore size range of 0.3 microns. 

The CMF process for recovery of


Figure 2. Pilot KMS Crossflow Filtration System for Lees 

wine from lees has been used successfully 

by producers of both red and white 

wines and continues to gain in popularity. 

First and foremost, under normal circumstances, 

CMF maintains the wine’s 

important qualities, including acidity, 

aroma, color, flavor and clarity, with little 

or no 

oxygen 

pickup or 

temperature 

rise. Figure 2 shows a photograph of a 

pilot KMS lees recovery system now in 

use at a large producer of red and white 

wines. 

The economics of the membrane filtration 

system are very favorable when compared 

to DE filtration. Table 1 illustrates 

the relative costs for crossflow membrane 

filtration versus traditional DE filtration of 

lees.1 Recovery of high quality wine with 

the membrane-based lees filter gives an 

enhanced return-on-investment (ROI) 

mainly due to the increased value of the 

wine recovered using CMF. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Lees filtration with crossflow membrane 

technology offers a number of 


enefits to the wine producer, including: 

• Increased product yields 

• Reduced costs and fewer problems 

with disposal of organic 

by-products and waste 

• Lower operating and labor costs 

when using the automated or 

manual CMF equipment 

• Recovery of a product that is 

comparable to the original wine or 

juice quality 

• Enhanced return on investment 

• Elimination of filter aids that may 

pose health risks to the workforce 

during handling and use 

The finished characteristics of the 

wine – color, aroma and flavor – are typically 

unaffected by the crossflow microfiltration 

process. Wine recovered from 

lees using crossflow membrane filtration 

FN 

maintains its desirable characteristics. 


Koch Membrane Systems, 850 Main Street 

Wilmington, Massachusetts 01887-3388 

Tel: 1-888-677-KOCH (5624) or 1-978-694-7000 

Fax: 1-978-657-5208 

Table 1 provides a hypothetical example of the relative costs of CMF versus traditional 

DE filtration based on KMS’ past experience. The costs provided are based on 

today’s costs at a given location and may vary according to changes in market conditions, 

location and operating conditions. The information provided herein is not intended 

nor should it be construed as a guarantee of a given return on investment. 

Back Your Filters Better 

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Materials laminate for co-expansion/ 

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Thickness: 0.001” 

to 0.2” 

Dexmet Engineers 

welcome the challenge 

of your unique materials 

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Custom-Expanded 

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Waste | Recycling 

Turning Waste Oil Into Profit 

By Del Williams 

To produce a cleaner, higher-grade fuel 

oil from waste oil and to streamline 

production, Global Recuperation 

turned to a state-of-the-art, self-cleaning 

filter system from Russel Finex of 

Pineville, North Carolina. 

In the United States alone, an estimated 

200 million gallons of used 

motor oil are improperly disposed 

of by being dumped on the ground, 

tossed in the trash (ending up in landfills), 

and poured down storm sewers 

and drains,” according to the EPA document 

titled, “Collecting Used Oil for 

Recycling/Reuse”. 

“If all of the used oil that is improperly 

disposed of were properly 

managed, the United States could 

save thousands of barrels of oil each 

day,” the EPA document continues. 

“Used oil that is properly handled 

can be re-refined into lubricants, 

processed into fuel oils, and used as 

raw materials for the refining and 

petrochemical industries.” 

Through waste oil recovery and 

reuse programs, pro-active nations 

such as the U.S. and Canada, as well as 

many municipalities are looking to 

turn the hazard of improper waste oil 

disposal into a valuable resource. In 

this effort, savvy companies are taking 

advantage of a new generation of selfcleaning 

filter technology that can 

process waste oil into quality products 

more effectively, with less downtime 

and labor than possible with traditional 

equipment. 

CAPTURING A NEW MARKET 

Global Recuperation, a waste management 

recycling company based in 

Quebec, Canada, reclaims used motor 

oil and filters, along with other industrial 

commodities. Though waste oil is 

mandated for reuse in much of Canada, 

Eric Poisson, the company’s president, 

wanted to capture an underserved market 

niche for a higher grade of fuel oil, 

made from processed waste oil. 

“A number of industrial clients required 

a simpler, cleaner burning fuel 

oil than the market offered from filtered 

waste oil,” said Mr. Poisson. “Before 

burning, typical filtered waste oil 

has to be pre-screened by the user in 

several steps, and it leaves more 

residue than desired.” 


Traditionally, Global Recuperation, 

and other processors in the Quebecarea, 

filtered waste oil with static filter 

cartridges at 20-mesh (900 micron). 

But there were production challenges 

with this approach. 

“The waste oil contained a variable 

percentage of solids that rapidly 

clogged our static filters,” said Mr. 

Poisson. “A dedicated operator had to 

manually clean the filters every 10 to 

60 minutes, depending on the concentration 

of solids. Each time, they 

had to remove the filter cartridge, 

clean and replace it, then restart production. 

It was too slow, labor intensive, 

and costly.” 

To produce a cleaner, higher-grade 

fuel oil from waste oil and to streamline 

production, Global Recuperation 

turned to a state-of-the-art, self-cleaning 

filtration system from Russell 

Finex (www.russellfinexusa.com) of 

Pineville, North Carolina. 

“With the self-cleaning filter screening 

at 150-microns, our process removes 

more foreign particulate from 

waste oil, including tiny ice crystals 

that can form in winter, resulting in a 

cleaner burning fuel oil with less 

residue,” said Mr. Poisson. “Because 

there are fewer particulates, our highgrade 

fuel product only needs to be prescreened 

once before use, unlike 

inferior fuel oil, which needs to be prescreened 

several times. 

Fuel pumps last longer too, due to 

the better filtration.” 

“My customers pay for fuel oil, not 

impurities or water, and that’s what 

they get,” added Mr. Poisson. 

Since the Self-Cleaning Russell Eco 

Filterâ system integrates directly into 

the pipeline, it eliminates labor-intensive 

manual cleaning tasks such as 

changing filter bags or cleaning filtra-

tion baskets. The filter element is kept 

continuously clean via a unique spiral 

wiper design, ensuring optimum filtration 

efficiency. Because of its design, 

cleaning the filter between batch 

runs is quick and easy with minimal 

disruption during production 

changeovers. Additionally, a unique Q- 

Tap valve allows the sampling of 

freshly filtered material so quality can 

be easily monitored on the fly without 

interrupting production. 

Compared to previous manuallycleaned 

filters, the new filter system is 

saving the company a substantial 

amount of labor and downtime. 

“The automatic wiper removes all 

solids that stick to the filter so it’s always 

clean,” said Mr. Poisson. “An operator 

just keeps an eye on the system 

and can spend time on other shop 

tasks. Eliminating the downtime of cartridge 

cleaning and replacement has 

dramatically improved production 

workflow. We’ve reduced labor by 75% 

and cut maintenance by 50%.” 

As companies like Global Recuperation 

are discovering, the Self-Cleaning 

Russell Eco Filter fits neatly into 

existing production lines, in many instances 

adding significant capacity 

without requiring excessive space. 

“The self-cleaning filter takes up 60% 

less space than our old static filters,” 

said Mr. Poisson. “This has freed up 

production space that will help us expand 

within our existing facilities as 

business grows.” 

Because the self-cleaning filter is 

totally enclosed, it also prevents outside 

pollutants from contaminating 

product and protects operators from 

any spillage or fumes. Users see substantial 

improvement in product purity, 

throughput and waste 

elimination; and a choice of easily 

swapped filter elements can give additional 

flexibility to meet the quality 

demands of customers. 

“Since my operators don’t need to 

remove filter cartridges, they don’t expose 

themselves to vapors or waste oil 

contaminants,” said Mr. Poisson. “My 

operators are happier, and there’s no 

smell of waste oil in the shop.” 

He summed up the benefit of 

switching to the self-cleaning filter: a 


safer environment for operators and 

business, as well as for society. 

“With higher margins on a higherquality 

fuel oil product, along with significantly 

lower labor costs, we’ll 

achieve ROI on the Eco Filter within a 

year,” Mr. Poisson added. 

For over 75 years Russell Finex has 

manufactured and supplied filters, 

screeners, and separators to improve 

product quality, enhance productivity, 

safeguard worker health, and ensure 

powders and liquids are contamination-free. 

Throughout the world, Russell 

Finex serves a variety of industries 

with applications, including: coatings, 

food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, adhesives, 

plastisols, paint, metal powders 

and ceramics. 

FN 


Russell Finex, Inc., 

625 Eagleton Downs Dr. 

Pineville, NC 28134 

Tel: 1-704-588-9808 

Fax: 1-704-588-0738 

Email: sales@russellfinexinc.com 

Website: www.russellfinexusa.com 


Industry | News 

TIGG Corporation Meets Methyl Bromide 

Recapture Standards Established by USA-QPS 

T 

IGG Corporation announced 

in December last year that the 

TIGG Methyl Bromide Recapture 

System meets and in some installations 

exceeds the specification set by 

the USDA-APHIS. 

For several years, the USDA-ARS has 

directed research toward the development 

of methyl bromide alternatives and 

methyl bromide recapture systems. Recently, 

the “Methyl Bromide Quarantine 

and Preshipment Interim National Management 

Strategy” was presented by the 

United States at the Twenty-first Meeting 

of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on 

Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 

in early November 2009. The Management 

Strategy, on the United Nations Environment 

Programme website, gives 

USDA-APHIS requirements for methyl 

bromide recapture systems. 

The TIGG Methyl Bromide Recapture 

System complies with these requirements 

by reducing emissions by at 

least 80%, retaining approved fumigation 

and aeration times mandated by 

the PPQ treatment manual and reducing 

the methyl bromide concentration 

in emissions to under 500 ppm. 

TIGG Corporation engineered and 

manufactured the TIGG Methyl Bromide 

Recapture System through a cooperative 

program between GFK Consulting LTD, 

USDA-ARS and Great Lakes Corporation 

(now Chemtura). During development, 

the Methyl Bromide Recapture System 


was proven in laboratory and pilot scale 

tests and has since operated successfully 

in commercial installations throughout 

the United States. 

Current commercial installations in 

the United States include the Dallas/Fort 

Worth Airport, GW Bush Intercontinental 

Airport in Houston, a 

cargo facility in Mississippi and a major 

California packer and shipper for airfreighting 

berries to Japan. 

TIGG Corporation, headquartered in 

Oakdale, PA (near Pittsburgh), designs 

and fabricates systems that use activated 

carbon and other purification media to 

treat water, wastewater, air and process 

streams. They are also manufacturers of 

steel tanks and pressure vessels. TIGG 

Corporation is a certified Woman 

FN 

Owned Small Business. 


Anthony Mazzoni Tel: 1-724-703-3020 

Email: amazzoni@TIGG.com 

Website: www.TIGG.com 

Racor Provides Replacement 

Elements for Blue Bird’s 

Cooper Air Cleaner 

T 

he Racor Division of Parker 

Hannifin Corporation, the 

global leader in motion and 

control technologies, recently announced 

the ECO Series Replacement 

Element 80097001 for Blue Bird conventional 

style buses manufactured before 

mid 2005. 

With its state-of-the-art design, the 

Racor replacement for Blue Bird’s 

Cooper air cleaner offers superior and 

reliable performance. The high efficiency 

replacement element features 

tool-less installation and superior 

media that keeps the dirt out and exceeds 

OEM performance specifications. 

With annual sales exceeding $10

Industrial 

Water Filters 

Good stewards reuse and recycle 

water whenever possible. 

Industry can no longer afford 

to dump large quantities of water down 

the drain. The makeup is too expensive 

or even not available. ORIVAL Water 

Filters makes used water reusable by 

removing unwanted organic and inorganic 

suspended solids. With models 

from ¾” to 24” and filtration degrees 

from 5 to 3,000 microns, ORIVAL Automatic 

Self-Cleaning Filters are available 

in many configurations and 

construction materials. ORIVAL filters 

stay on-line during the rinse cycle providing 

uninterrupted flow of clean 

water. And some models are designed 

with water conservation in mind. 

Orival Water Filters for making used water reusable. 

For more information contact: ORIVAL 

Tel: 1-800-567-9767 

Website: www.orival.com 

ECO Series filter for Blue Bird buses 

billion, Parker Hannifin is the world's 

leading diversified manufacturer of motion 

and control technologies and systems, 

providing precision-engineered 

solutions for a wide variety of mobile, 

industrial and aerospace markets. The 

company employs approximately 

52,000 people in 48 countries around 

the world. Parker has increased its annual 

dividends paid to shareholders for 

53 consecutive years, among the top 

five longest-running dividend-increase 

records in the S&P 500 index. 

FN 

For more information visit: www.parker.com 


Industry | Events 

Emphasis on Liquids and 

Separations at AFSS Conference 

By Ken Norberg, Editor 

T 

he American Filtration and 

Separations Society will hold 

its 23rd Annual Technical 

Conference & Exhibition on March 22- 

25, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San 

Antonio, Texas. To further impact the 

separation society and reach out to even 

more experts in the field, the 2010 AFS 

Annual Technical Conference will be colocated 

with the 2010 AIChE Spring National 

Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. 

The co-location with the AIChE will 

give excellent opportunity to approach 

an outstandingly large audience of 

more than 500 technical and academic 

experts, since the sessions of both organizations 

will be fully accessible to all 

attendees at no additional charge. 

Strong emphasis is given to both liquid 

and gas separations. Within these 

fields are areas of interest involving the 

hardware, the appropriate filter media, the 

overall system and its operation, product 

evaluation and monitoring, instrumentation, 

ancillary products such as supports, 

resins and adhesives, requirements for 

specific applications, safety and health aspects, 

selection protocols, and particle science 

and characterization. Understanding 

the basic aspects of the processes and the 

mathematical modeling of these operations 

will play an important role in improved 

design and operation. 

The current economic climate results 

in significant pressure on most industries. 

Production rates are down, 

capital spending is reduced, cost control 

efforts take over and morale is low. 

In difficult times like these we should 

remind ourselves that filtration and 

separation can play a key role in approaching 

these challenges. Recent 

signs of economic stabilization also require 

an even stronger effort on market 

evaluation and preparation to increased 

demand. In the past year resources 

were concentrated on product and 

process development, which promises 

to have generated important novelties 

for the separation society. 

The AFS provides an important platform 

to keep companies updated on the 

new opportunities. The vision of the 

2010 Annual Conference is to discuss 

the challenges and the opportunities in 

separations, to address energy and environmental 

issues, and to prepare for 

the growth in the area of biotechnology. 

BIOTECHNOLOGY 

Research and development efforts in 

the field of biotechnology produce exciting 

novelties nearly everyday. Novel 

products and novel ways of processing 

improve everybody’s life and enable 

sustainability, growth and cost efficiency. 

This track is presenting the 

downstream bio processing novelties, 

their application and process integration 

and will focus on: 

• Novel Separation Technology 

• Membrane Separation 

• Downstream Bioprocessing and 

Process Integration 

• Selective Separation 

• Pretreatment in Bioseparation 

• In Situ Product Recovery 

• Chromatography 

• Impact of upstream processing on 

separation performance 

Fundamentals and Applications 

Advances in Fluid/Particle separations 

rely upon fundamental understanding 

and application of the basic physics. 

Proper models and simulations are essential 

as are well-designed experiments 

and observations. This track has 

sessions for paper presentations on 

model development, computer simulations 

and practical applications. Separate 

sessions are provided for 

separations of nanomaterials, media design, 

equipment design, and testing. 

This track will focus on: 


• Theory and Simulations I and II 

• Nanoscale/Nanoparticle Separations 

• Solids Liquid Separation In The 

Chemical Industry 

• New Methods in Fluid/Particle 

Separations 

• Gas/Liquid and Liquid/Liquid 

Separat ions 

• Filter Media Design 

• Cross Flow Filtration 

• Modeling of Media Structure 

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT 

The theme for this track is filtration 

and separations impact and role past, 

present and future on energy generation 

and conservation, and environment 

preservation from many points of view. 

The impact and role of filtration and separations 

is quite implicit and is widely interpreted 

depending on specific 

applications. Fundamentally, however, its 

role is encompassing more and more what 

impact on energy and environment it affects, 

while performing its basic function 

of maintaining and extending equipment 

service life and protecting larger and 

larger investments. Topics include: 

• Emission Control Future & 

Challenges 

• Water Treatment and Recycle 

Including Policy (2 sessions) 

• Biofuels 

• Alternative Energy 

• Low-Energy Separations 

– Application of Membranes 

• Nanofibers 

• Baghouse Filtration 

The conference offers companies the 

opportunity to promote their products 

and services through conference sponsorships 

and tabletop exhibits. This 

conference will be the largest gathering 

of filtration and separation experts in 

North America in 2010. 

The conference begins on Monday, 

March 22nd with eleven short courses

eing offered. These courses include: 

• Fundamentals of Liquid Filtration 

• Fundamentals of Air/Gas Filtration 

• Microfiltration Membranes 

• Ultrafiltration Membranes 

• Gas Solid Separation with 

Fabric Filters 

Sealant’s New See-Flo 1100 

Improves Meter-Mix Dispense 

• Gas Solid Separation with Cyclones 

• Nonwoven Air Filtration 

• Electrostatic Charging and Electrets 

for Air Filter Media 

• Dewatering in Wastewater Treatment 

• Liquid Filtration Testing Basics 

• Reverse Osmosis System Design 

See-Flo 1100 

Sealant Equipment & Engineering, 

Inc.’s new See-Flo® 

1100 is a new and improved 

fixed-ratio, positive displacement, 

meter-mix dispense system ideal for 

manual and automated adhesive and 

sealant applications in the production 

and assembly of glass, metal, plastic 

and composite materials. 

The See-Flo 1100 Meter-Mix Dispense 

System is ideal for potting transformers, 

sealing insulating glass, 

bonding solar panel modules, bonding 

wind blades, product assembly bonding 

or sealing applications and self-contained 

mobile dispensing units. 

The system accurately meters low- to 

high-viscosity two-component materials 

such as epoxies, urethanes, silicones and 

acrylics supplied by pumps or pressure 

tanks. The See-Flo 1100 meter and supply 

assemblies can be floor-mounted, 

mobile-cart mounted and may be 

process integrated by Sealant Equipment 

with a dispensing robot assembly. 


Suzanne Sower, Executive Manager 

American Filtration and Separations Society 

7608 Emerson Avenue South 

Richfield, MN 55423 

Tel: 612-861-1277 Fax: 612-861-7959 

Email: kssafs@mac.com 

FN 

Website: www.afssociety.org 

The See-Flo 1100 is ideal when dispensing 

continuous precision beads or 

large volumes of high viscosity 2-part 

materials. The fixed ratio, rod displacement 

meter ensures the correct ratio and 

flow rate is dispensed onto the product 

being assembled. The basic See-Flo 1100 

meter has no control panel and is allpneumatic 

operated. Advanced assemblies 

have electronic panels for 

controlling the dispensing system. FN 


Sealant Equipment & Engineering, Inc. 

45677 Helm Street, Plymouth, MI 48170. 

Tel: 1-734-459-8600 

Email: sales@sealantequipment.com 

Website: www.SealantEquipment.com/sf1100 


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Advertiser Index 

Page 

Website 

A2Z Filtration Specialities 5 www.a2zfiltration.com 

Air Filter, Inc. 15 www.airfilterusa.com 

Ashby Cross Co. 30 www.ashbycross.com 

Clack Corporation 31 www.clackcorp.com 

Contract Pleating Services 19 www.solentech.com 

Dexmet Corporation 27 www.dexmetfilter.com 

Filter-Mart 21 www.filtermart.com 

Filtration Technology Sys. 9 www.filtrationtech.com 

GL Capital, LLC 36 ecg@egregor.com 

Industrial Netting 27 www.industrialnetting.com 

Jadtis Industries 15 www.jadtis.com 

JCEM-USA 23 www.jcem.ch 

Lawrence Industries, Inc 20 lawrenceindustries@juno.com 

Magnetool Inc. 24 www.magnetoolinc.com 

Metalex 22 www.metlx.com 

Metcom Inc. 33 www.metcomusa.com 

NAAMM - EMMA 33 www.emma-assoc.org 

Orival Inc. 17 www.orival.com 

PerCor Mfg. 7 www.percormfg.com 

Perforated Tubes 18 www.perftubes.com 

Rosedale Products 1 www.rosedaleproducts.com 

Sealant Equipment 25 www.sealantequipment.com 

Solent Technology Inc. 26 www.solentech.com 

Sonobond Ultrasonic 11 www.sonobondultrasonics.com 

Spati Industries, Inc. 16 www.spatiindustries.com 

Spin Tek Filtration Back Cover www.spintek.com 

Xinxiang Tiancheng Aviation 29 www.tchkjh.com 

Filtration 

Mergers, Acquisitions 

and Divestures 

GL Capital, LLC 

We understand the nuances of 

the domestic and international 

filtration industry and bring 

over 70 years of combined 

business, technical and financial 

expertise. The current economic 

climate is an ideal time 

for sellers to locate buyers 

seeking to diversify and for 

buyers to identify growth opportunities 

through acquisition. 

March/April Issue of 

Don’t miss the next issue of Filtration News 

Special Reports include: 

• Membrane Filtration Media 

• Indoor Air Quality 

• Testing and Instrumentation 

• Technical Textile in Filtration 

(monofilament and glass fabrics) 

For a confidential conversation contact: 

To be part of our editorial coverage email: 

ken@filtnews.com 

To advertise email: joan@filtnews.com, 

gail@filtnews.com, debra@filtnews.com 


Edward C. Gregor 

704-442-1940 

ecg@egregor.com 

P. John Lovell 

719-375-1564 

glcapital@comcast.net

2010 

Buyers’ Guide 

Early Bird Rates 

Up to May 31, 2010 

Advertisers: 

First Category $ 99.00 

Each Additional Category $ 75.00 

Non-Advertisers: 

First Category $115.00 


Logos (1 time charge) $ 50.00 

After May 31, 2010 

Advertisers: 



Non-Advertisers: 



Logos (1 time charge) $ 50.00 

Take Advantage of this Special Offer... 

For more information contact Joan Oakley: 

Phone: 248-347-3486 - Email: joan@filtnews.com

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