Refining petroleum products, manufacturing polymer films or plastic bottles, producing paints and varnishes, synthesizing thermosetting resins for the aerospace industry, producing fertilizers… In the chemical and petrochemical industries, it is essential to filter chemical compounds that are particularly aggressive, highly viscous, or handled at high temperature. Metal filters make it possible to meet these filtration requirements under extreme conditions of pressure, temperature, oxidation, and viscosity. Explanations.
Specific filtration requirements in the chemical and petrochemical industries
The processes used in chemistry and petrochemistry often require operating at high temperatures, sometimes exceeding 500 °C. They frequently involve corrosive compounds, such as halogenated products (dichloromethane, trichloroethylene, chlorobenzene, perchloroethylene, hydrofluoroalkanes, hydrofluoroethers) or strong acids. The viscosity of the fluids to be purified is also often high, for example when working with gels, resins, lacquers, or paints. It is therefore essential to adapt the materials used to manufacture filter housings and filters (filter cartridges, filter media) to these very specific requirements.
Filters: metal in all its forms
To meet these various constraints, our partner filter manufacturers have developed ranges of filters based on metallic filtration elements. “Powder, fiber, mesh… metal is used in multiple forms,” explains Christophe Lextrait. Each of these geometries offers different filtration capabilities.
Pleated filter cartridges made from sintered metal fibers offer excellent impurity retention capacity during filtration while providing high porosity. They can be cleaned in place without significantly interrupting the filtration process. They are used, for example, in refineries.
The use of metal powder makes it possible to produce filtration media that are particularly uniform and corrosion-resistant, whether in stainless steel or in innovative nickel-based alloys such as Hastelloy®. This type of media is used, for instance, to manufacture cylindrical filter elements that provide effective depth filtration with good service life. These filters are notably used in the production of polypropylene films.
Finally, other filters are made from metallic woven meshes, available in various weaves and used as single layers or in complex multi-layer structures. Stainless-steel mesh filters can be used at temperatures up to 540 °C, with operating peaks reaching 650 °C, and are resistant to most chemical products. Multiple formats (sheets, cones, cylinders, etc.) are available. Manufactured from different materials, these metal mesh filters are used in agrochemistry, in nitric acid and urea production plants starting from ammonia, as well as for steam treatment in various chemical industries.
Is it easy to integrate metal filters into production lines?
Whatever the technology used (mesh, sintered powder, or metal fibers), all metal filters offer excellent mechanical strength and resist deterioration in critical applications. Available in wide ranges, they can also be custom-made to meet highly specific requirements in terms of composition (Inconel®, Hastelloy®, Monel®) and dimensions. Finally, manufacturers also supply the components required for their connection to the rest of the installation, using standard fittings to facilitate their integration into production lines. “Using metal filters allows us to offer our customers highly specialized filtration solutions that are easy to implement in demanding operating environments,” concludes Christophe Lextrait.
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