Industry sector: automotive
Company activity: manufacture of mechanical bearings
Company type: international group
Company founding period: 1910s
Contact: methods and maintenance manager
Compagny context
The company manufactures ball, cylindrical, and needle bearings for various industries, particularly the automotive sector. Within its production workshops, the company operates air handling units equipped with several air filters of varying efficiencies.
Filtration challenge
In the company’s production workshops, operators machine numerous metal parts (bolts, bearings, etc.) intended in particular for automotive manufacturers. Machining these parts requires the use of oil which, at several workstations, releases significant oil vapors.
The customer wanted to implement an air filtration and oil-particle retention solution with the aim of:
- protecting operators,
- reducing the cost of consumables used.
The existing air handling units (AHUs) include four filtration stages:
- the first two stages with flat metal filters to promote oil coalescence in the air
- one stage with a pleated G4 filter
- a final stage with a flat G4 filter
The G4-efficiency filters are made from synthetic materials designed to retain the finer oil particles present in the ambient air.
The G4 filters used by the company were single-use filters that the customer washed with a water jet before reusing them. However, as they were not designed for cleaning, they deteriorated quickly and lost efficiency with each wash.
Pemflow filtration solution
Following an on-site filtration audit, the Pemflow experts recommended revising the filtration setup by replacing some of the single-use G4 filters with washable, cleanable, and reusable G4 filters.
Although the proposed G4 filters represent a higher initial purchase cost, they offer a much longer service life thanks to their suitability for cleaning using an appropriate procedure.
We therefore recommended implementing washable G4 filters made of synthetic media, with a galvanized steel frame, four polypropylene faces with electrostatic action, and an inner galvanized grid (visuals 1 and 2).
The characteristics of the proposed G4 filters are as follows:
- filtration class: EU4
- average gravimetric efficiency: 90%
- nominal airflow: 4500 m³/h/m²
- initial pressure drop: 60 Pa
- final pressure drop: 250 Pa
- temperature range: 50 to 70 °C
Expert advice
G4 filters of EU4 class (EN 779-2012 standard) are used in paint or enameling booths, air-conditioning cabinets, and air handling units (AHUs).
Pemflow’s filtration experts accompanied the proposal with a washing and drying procedure to follow in order to optimize the service life of the G4 filters:
- washing with cold or lukewarm water (maximum 60 °C), either with a water jet or using a high-pressure washer (provided the nozzle is kept sufficiently far from the G4 filter to avoid damaging the seams)
- drying in open air or in front of a fan
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