Prevent filter clogging: example of a solution using innovative coatings

The company must have an efficient filtration system to remove PET (polyethylene terephthalate) powder generated during plastic bottle manufacturing. This powder is dry and contains no oil in the air.

The filtration cartridges used until now—made from nonwoven polyester with antistatic treatment—were becoming clogged after just 3 days, despite an automatic cleaning system operating every 15 to 30 seconds with a 6-bar reverse pressure.

The company was forced to intervene regularly on the production line to clean them. It therefore wanted to replace the existing filter cartridges with solutions offering longer service life, in order to extend maintenance intervals and reduce costs.

We first advised the company to resolve, with the machine manufacturer’s support, two issues we had identified but which were outside our scope:

• Fix the leakage problem on the dust collector door, which was allowing PET powder to escape and significantly reducing efficiency
• Mechanically modify the air injection pipes used for back-pulse cleaning as recommended, in order to increase air velocity during cleaning and reduce reverse pressure from 6 bar to 4 bar

We then recommended the use of a filter cartridge with antistatic polyester medium coated with a PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) membrane. This material prevents particles from penetrating deeply into the filtration media, increasing service life. Back-pulse cleaning is enhanced, as contaminants are trapped at the surface before entering deeper into the media where they are more difficult to dislodge.

The solution proposed by Pemflow resulted in tripling the service life of the filtration cartridges.

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