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Industrial water filters: features and purpose.

What interesting you will learn from the content of this article:

1. Areas of application and purpose of industrial filters

2. What industrial filters are

3. Features of industrial filters

1. Spheres of application and purpose of industrial filters.

Any water from any source must undergo certain stages of purification before use. This is especially true in the industrial sphere. In this segment, water is used not only for drinking and technical needs, but also in the manufacture of products. The standards applied to the composition of water are different, depending on the purpose. For example, for drinking water there is GOST R 51232-98. Sanitary norms are defined in SanPiN 2.1.4.1074-2001. To correct the composition of water to the required one, special industrial filters are installed. Each industry needs separate types of filters or their combination. Such water treatment is carried out at all industrial enterprises in all spheres: heavy industry, chemical, pharmacological, food, electronic, energy and others. In addition, industrial filters are installed for filtration of waste water, which can be filled with harmful impurities and according to sanitary norms it is necessary to dispose of them without exceeding the concentration of harmful substances. In particular, this applies more to agriculture and heavy metallurgy.

In addition to the need to comply with regulations, water filtration helps to extend the life of the equipment. Water with a large number of impurities negatively affects the plumbing, pipes and, in fact, the equipment itself. For example, high iron content causes corrosion. And hardness salts reduce heat conductivity, clog pipes and settle on the walls. And, of course, you can not use such water in production. This will not only affect the quality of products, but will also lead to rapid failure of equipment. And this is additional financial costs, and, of course, time. Therefore, for smooth operation of production must take care of proper water treatment and installation of filtration systems in time.

Industrial filters, unlike household filters, have increased capacity and can be larger. Properly designed system will help to produce quality water purification for a long time without losing high performance.

2. What are the different types of industrial filters?

Each filter is responsible for cleaning from a certain type of contaminants and has its own design. Actually from the task that solves the filter, and depend on its characteristics. Based on this, they can be divided into several types:

Mechanical. This type of filter is responsible for removing large particles, such as small stones, sand and dirt. Such coarse filtration is the first stage of water purification.

The simplest version of the filter is a mud filter. It is installed directly into the pipe and is flow-through. It is able to remove particles up to 300 microns in size. Among the advantages can be emphasized ease of operation and installation, long service life, the ability to work at high temperatures. However, when installing it, attention should be paid to the pressure. There are also coarse mesh filters, disk filters and others. They differ not only in design, but also in characteristics. For example, mesh filters are capable of capturing particles up to 500 microns.

Fig. 1 Coarse filter 

Ion exchange filters. These filters are used to soften water by removing hardness salts and replacing them with sodium ions. The filtering element is ionic resin. Softeners have a long service life due to the possibility of filter regeneration.

Fig. 2 Ion exchange filter

Sorbent filters. The principle of operation of such filters is in the bulk sorbent. Bulk material retains impurities due to the large area of absorbing surface. In addition to purifying action, sorption filters have a bactericidal action, removing microbes and organic trace elements. The most common sorbent is charcoal. But the filling is selected depending on the production needs.

Fig. 3 Sorption carbon filter

Membrane filters. Capable of trapping all impurities, allowing only water molecules to pass through. The filter consists of small cells that do not allow any impurities to pass through. The industrial membrane filter mainly works on the basis of the reverse osmosis method. When the filter becomes clogged, it is washed with a stream of water, knocking out impurities from the cells. The diameter of the cells can vary. With the nanofiltration method, a membrane filter will have larger cells, allowing not only water molecules through, but also some hardness salts. Membrane filters are quite delicate and it is advisable to initially treat the water for large contaminants when installing them.

As a rule, the industry installs several types of filters that complement each other. First come coarse filters, which not only remove visible contaminants, but also allow to extend the service life of subsequent filters. Next, filters are installed to clean impurities. What type is needed, you can determine by the chemical composition of the source water and the chosen method of purification. The final stage will be a sorbing filter or disinfection filter. Such a stage is mandatory in the food industry or pharmacology. The filtration system can have a different filling. It all depends on the initial composition of water and the subsequent purpose. The system can also be supplemented with elements for better and more efficient operation.

Fig. 4 Membrane filter based on reverse osmosis

3. Peculiarities of industrial filters.

The filter system should not only quickly and qualitatively purify water in the required volumes, depending on the nature of contamination, but also easily clean the filter elements. The fact is that the installation is a multilevel system. And at industrial enterprises, water treatment is continuous. Over time, filters become clogged with impurities and cease to function, while the efficiency of the system falls. To prevent this from happening, each element needs to be flushed periodically. A coarse filter can be flushed with normal water pressure. The same applies to membrane sorption elements. In sorption filters, washing takes place by loosening the filler. The particles rub against each other to get rid of impurities. Ion filters are cleaned by regeneration. To do this, the filter is washed with a salt solution.

But even if filter cleaning is not difficult, it is quite difficult to control the level of contamination. That is why all systems are automated. Auto-cleaning can be of several types: continuous and after a certain period of time. In the first case, the removal of contaminants from the filter element takes place simultaneously with filtration. In the second case, a specific interval is entered through a special controller. In some cases, instead of a time interval, it is possible to program the passage of a certain volume of water.

All types of industrial filters have strict requirements:

1. They must be environmentally friendly, made of non-toxic and high-quality material. They must also be resistant to chemical elements, if the reagent method of purification is chosen. Resistant to the negative effects of impurities. For example, we can call corrosion.
2. Have a high performance. In industrial production, it is required to quickly and qualitatively purify a large volume of water.
3. Easy assembly and installation. Ability to assemble a water treatment system in a short time. Availability of spare parts. In different situations, it may be necessary to replace any part of the filter element. This may be simply the end of service life or breakdown. In any case, that all parts of the filter should be easily and quickly replaced so as not to delay production.
4. Small percentage of discharge to the drain. When the filter is running, only a fraction of the total volume of treated water goes to the finishing treatment and the rest is discharged to the drain. So, the lower the percentage of water discharged, the higher the performance of the filter.
5. Quality filtration. Industrial filter must meet the stated characteristics and completely remove impurities.
6. Cost. Another important requirement, which directly depends on the characteristics and cleaning abilities of the filter. In terms of price, it should correspond to the quality of work and the resulting product.
7. Service life. Each filter element has its own service life. For example, coarse filters will have a longer life than membrane filters. Nevertheless, the industrial filter must work off the period of time that is stated in the passport.