The Filter Media

Pores with passages extending all the way through the filter medium are capable of capturing solid particles that are smaller than the narrowest cross section of the passage. This is generally attributed to particle brid ng or, in some cases, physical adsorption. 

The separation of solid particles from a liquid via filtration is a complicated process. For practical reasons filter medium openings should be larger than the average size of the particles to be filtered. The filter medium chosm should be capable of retaining solids by adsorption. Furthermore, interparticle cohesive forces should be large enough to induce particle flocculation around the pore openings. 

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Surface Tension. Interfacial surface tension between fluid and filter media is considered to play a role in the adhesion of blood cells to synthetic fibers. Interfacial tension is a result of the interaction between the surface tension of the fluid and the filter media. Direct experimental evidence has shown that varying this interfacial tension influences the adhesion of blood cells to biomaterials. The viscosity of the blood product is important in the shear forces of the fluid to the attached cells viscosity of a red cell concentrate is at least 500 times that of a platelet concentrate. This has a considerable effect on the shear and flow rates through the filter. The surface stickiness plays a role in the critical shear force for detachment of adhered blood cells. 

Cell Activation. Several studies have shown that platelets and white cells undergo shape changes when adhering to filter media. The cells are activated by contact with the filter media and form pseudopods which attach to the filter media. The cells membranes may need a certain degree of viabihty to be able to actively attach to the filter media. When white cells are treated with metaboHc inhibitors, the capabiUty of leukocyte reduction by the filter is reduced. 

Common names have been given to sodium sulfate as a result of manufacturiag methods. In rayon production, by-product sodium sulfate is separated from a slurry by filtration where a 7—10-cm cake forms over the filter media. Thus rayon cake was the term coiaed for this cake. Similarly, salt cake, chrome cake, phenol cake, and other sodium sulfate cakes were named. Historically, sulfate cakes were low purity, but demand for higher purity and controlled particle size has forced manufacturers either to produce higher quaUty or go out of busiaess. Sodium sulfate is mined commercially from three types of mineral evaporites thenardite, mirabilite, and high sulfate brine deposits (see Chemicals FROMBRINe). 

In cake or surface filtration, there are two primary areas of consideration continuous filtration, in which the resistance of the filter cake (deposited process solids) is veiy large with respec t to that of the filter media and filtrate drainage, and batch pressure filtration, in which the resistance of the filter cake is not veiy Targe with respect to that of the filter media and filtrate drainage. Batch pressure filters are generally fitted with heavy, tight filter cloths plus a layer of precoat and these represent a significant resistance that must be taken into account. Continuous filters, except for precoats, use relatively open cloths that offer little resistance compared to that of the filter cake. 

The advantages of the tubular filter are that it uses an easily replaced filter medium, its filtration cycle can be interrupted and the shell can be emptied of prefilt at any time without loss of the cake, the cake is readily recoverable in dry form, and the inside of the filter is conveniently accessible. There is also no unfiltered heel. Disadvantages are the necessity and attendant labor requirements of emptying by hand and replacing the filter media and the tendency for neavy solids to settle out in the header chamber. Applications are as a scavenger filter to remove fines not removed in a prior-filtration stage with a different land of equipment, to handle the runoff from other filters, and in semiworks and small-plant operations in which the filter s size, versatility, and cleanliness recommend it. 

The particle size and porosity of the filter media, since operating efficiency is directly related to the available biofilm surface area. 

The filter media must be a source of inorganic nutrients for the microbes. In cases of long-term operation, inorganic nutrients can be periodically added to the bed. 

Good bed drainage characteristics are necessary to ensure that reaction products are easily transported out of the filter media. The leachate is generally recycled through the humidification process to reduce the wastewater stream. 

The filter media should have buffering capacity in order to maintain a pH of at least 3. This is especially a concern when inorganic compounds are targeted for reduction by the biofilter. 

The filter media should be composed of materials that have a nonobjectional odor. 

Screen the sampling area using detector tubes, if appropriate. Determine the appropriate sampling technique. Prepare and calibrate the equipment and prepare the filter media. 

Proper selection of the filter media is often the most important consideration for assuring efficient suspension separation. A good filter medium should have the following general characteristics ... 

Nonwoven filter media are mostly used for filter medium filtration with pore clogging. Because of the relatively low cost of this medium, it is often replaced after pore clogging. In some cases, nonwoven media are used for cake filtration. In this case, cake removal is so difficult that it must be removed altogether from the filter medium. Nonwoven filter media can be prepared so that pore sizes decrease in the direction from the surface of the filter media contacting suspension to the surface contacting the supporting device. This decreases the hydraulic resistance of... 

Fixed rigid media are available in the forms of disks, pads and cartridges. They are composed of firm, rigid particles set in permanent contact with one another. The media formed have excellent void uniformity, resistance to wear and ease in handling as piece units. Depending on the particle size forming the filter media, temperature, pressure and time for caking, it is possible to manufacture media with... 

The retentivity relative to solid particles (e.g., spherical particles of polystyrene of definite size) is found from experiments determining the amount of these particles in the suspension to be filtered before and after the filter media. The retentivity K is determined as follows where g, g" =amounts of solid particles in liquid sample before and after the medium, respectively. 

When the cake structure is composed of particles that are readily deformed or become rearranged under pressure, the resulting cake is characterized as being compressible. Those that are not readily deformed are referred to as sem-compressible, and those that deform only slightly are considered incompressible. Porosity (defined as the ratio of pore volume to the volume of cake) does not decrease with increasing pressure drop. The porosity of a compressible cake decreases under pressure, and its hydraulic resistance to the flow of the liquid phase increases with an increase in the pressure differential across the filter media. 

These filters are similar in configuration to a Nutsche filter, but instead of one filter plate there is a series of plates inside the vessel. The filtrate is pulled through the filter media in the center of each plate to a central pipe that discharges out the bottom of the devise. The bottom plate of the filter usually discharges its filtrate thought a separate nozzle. These filters are usually used with slurries where a smaller quantity of solids is to be collected. 

Selecting the suitable mechanism largely depends on the release characteristics of the cake from the filter media. Scraper discharge mechanisms generally tend to suit cakes that release readily whereas roller discharge mechanisms are best suited for cakes that exhibit thixotropic behavior. 

Granular media filtration is used for treating aqueous waste streams. The filter media consists of a bed of granular particles (typically sand or sand with anthracite or coal). The anthracite has adsorptive characteristics and hence can be beneficial in removing some biological and chemical contaminants in the wastewater. This material may also be substituted for activated charcoal. 

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