In the industry, water quality is increasingly important, one due to international standards to produce equipment and products with a higher degree of purity, and secondly due to the fact that the supply sources suffer from contamination due to population growth and that waste regulation is slower than the level of growth, especially in Latin American countries.
What now involves us is improving the quality of the water we use and reusing the industrial waters that we dispose of. But let’s first go through the main concepts of this topic.
What are industrial water filters?
An industrial water filter is a system that involves a series of steps to remove unwanted material from the water used in industrial applications.
These materials include solid or dissolved particles or sediments, dissolved metals, chemicals, odors, minerals, and other impurities. The main function of industrial water filters is to protect human health if water is an important part of the product to be manufactured or a secondary ingredient, in addition to components or machinery in industrial applications.
What types of filtration industrial of water exists?
You can choose an industrial water filtration system depending on the specifications of the contaminants you want to remove. These include:
Industrial filters for sediments.
How do industrial sediment water filters work?
Industrial solid sediment water filters can be surface filters that physically force water through a membrane or cartridge filter.
Another alternative is depth filters that have porous materials for the collection of impurities throughout the granular medium, such as anthracites, sands, zeolites, etc.
Surface filtration vs. depth.
The depth filters They are the most common for industrial water filtration because they have a greater capacity to hold dirt without having pressure drops and collapsing alternate systems.
Depth filters are also known as depth filters. deep bed. When pressurized fluid passes through the medium, they restrain contaminants either through attractive molecular forces or by direct collision. Different industrial applications have special requirements for a certain number and types of filters.
The cartridge or bag filters They can be used with multiple 7-cartridge holders where they allow the use of finer filtration (1 or 5 microns) than a deep-bed filter (15 to 25 microns). Cartridge filters or bag filters require more contrasting filter changes and greater care for changes in pressure differential so as not to collapse.
A team that has had a lot of boom are the disc filters, these allow large volumes of water without the need to make a constant change of cartridges, since they use cartridges formed by plastic discs, which do not suffer accelerated wear, which can last many more years than deep bed filters and on all cartridge that its life time is very short.
Furthermore, in disc filters Self-cleaning water savings are much less than deep-bed and can be automated and backwashing in sequence to avoid stopping filtered water production.
What is the difference between deep bed water filters and cartridge filters?
First, we are going to explain how each of these work.
Deep bed industrial filters.
The choice of materials used in a deep bed filter will depend on the type of contaminants to be removed. Typically filter media are layered to filter different sizes of solids and create a pressure drop across the filter. In the initial stage, the grains are larger to retain the larger sediments. Then, in the middle phase, the size of the filter medium is reduced to retain smaller particles and the last layer is a gravel medium that supports the filter medium and distributes the water so that it exits through the distributors or nozzles. Clean water or product exits through the system through the collector or distributor, which retains the filter medium and prevents it from exiting with the water flow.
An important step in deep bed filters or also called multimedia filters is the cleaning of the bed, this is done with a “Backwash” and consists of reversing the flow to expand the filter bed and expel the sediments retained during the service processes. , this requires a flow of water up to 3 times greater than what it gives us when it is operating, sometimes an additional pumping equipment is necessary for this step.
Figure 1. Deep bed filtration system.
You can find information about deep bed filters here:
Cartridge filters.
The filter medium that a cartridge is composed of is one of the most economical but its life time is relatively short, the body of the cartridge is made of pressed polyethylene fibers or as a fabric. The medium retains impurities and releases clean water on its way out. That is, when contaminated water passes through it.
Fig. 2. Operation of a polyspun sediment cartridge.
Water filter cartridges are relatively cheaper compared to deep bed filters and can achieve considerably high filtration efficiency.
The most common types of cartridges are Polyspun, Yarn and Pleated, you can consult the information and technical sheets of different brands on our page:
Bag filters.
The use of these filters is similar to the cartridge filters, although it could have a little better water flow, and if we add pressure, good results can be obtained. The filters have a fibrous material, which allows the passage of water while retaining solids and suspended particles.
These filters are inexpensive compared to other methods, suitable for many applications, and can be well suited to certain processes. Like cartridge filters, it is necessary to constantly replace them and take care of pressure differences.
Figure 3. Bag filter image.
Figure 4. Bag filters image.
Do you need a filter bag? You can request a quote here: https://www.anunciosindustriales.com/producto/filtros-bolsa/
Disc filters.
They were originally created to filter drip irrigation water in agriculture, but that same principle applies perfectly in industry.
The technological advance of these systems means that we save more water used in cleaning deep-bed systems and in a better time. In addition to occupying a smaller space, adjusting to smaller places. They are modular systems that can grow in need of a greater flow, adding more filters.
Figure 5. Operation of a disc filter.
Figure 6. Image of the filter element of the disc filters.
Check models, capacities and types of disc filters:
UV ultraviolet light water purification.
It is one of the most effective methods to disinfect water contaminated by microorganisms. Ultraviolet rays destroy the DNA of microorganisms, killing up to 99.99% when exposed to UV light.
This method is vital for drinking water. It is fast, requires little energy, easy to operate, is economical, environmentally friendly, and does not use any toxic chemicals and therefore does not leave a residue in water.
However, it can only kill microorganisms and does not remove any other type of impurities. Also, the water has to be pre-treated and clear, as any solid particles can block UV rays.
More information of ultraviolet equipment:
Reverse osmosis.
This purification system uses a semi-permeable membrane that only allows water molecules to pass through. By pumping equipment it is made for contaminated water at a certain pressure to push it through the membrane, so that pure water is obtained on the other side. In doing so, the water moves from an area of high concentration to one of low concentration, hence the name of reverse osmosis.
This system uses filtration at the molecular level, and is perfect for demineralization or desalination of brackish or sea water.
It can also remove all kinds of impurities, including microorganisms, ions, salts, minerals, heavy metals, and organic molecules.
However, the process is slow, and requires constant self-cleaning so it can reject up to 60% of what it produces. The latter, which could be seen as waste, can be reversed by using this water, because it is very good quality water that has already undergone pretreatment prior to entering osmosis.
There are different types of reverse osmosis, these are some of them:
Activated carbon equipment.
In the industry they can also be known as activated carbon filters, but in our view it is more of a purifier than a filter, since its job is not to remove solid sediments, but to purify undesirable organic matter in the water. These kits have activated carbon grains.
They can eliminate chemical impurities such as chlorine, pesticides, iron, detergents and hydrogen sulfide…. They also improve the quality of the water, as it eliminates bad smell and taste. Filters must be replaced after they become clogged with impurities.
If you need to purchase activated carbon equipment, you can consult the systems available from our brand:
Iron and manganese catalyzers
The purpose of catalyst filters is to remove iron (FE) and manganese (MG). The filter is usually composed of green sands treated with manganese dioxide, although other materials such as Pyrolox, Katalox, Green Sand Plus can also be used.
Because these filters combine oxidation and filtration, they can be used to treat raw water with dissolved iron and manganese.
Catalytic filters require significant maintenance, including frequent regeneration with a solution of chlorine or potassium permanganate, as it is consumed during the oxidation of dissolved metals. In addition, equipment requires regular backwashing to remove precipitated iron and manganese particles. The potassium permanganate solution used for regeneration is toxic and must be handled and stored carefully using specific safety measures.
When properly maintained, manganese dioxide filters are very efficient for moderate levels of iron and manganese, both dissolved and already precipitated. They are generally recommended when the combined concentration of iron and manganese is in the range of 3 to 10 mg / L. Note that the frequency of maintenance (backwash and regeneration) will increase as the concentration of these metals increases.
Some granular media such as Pyrolox or Birm do not require regeneration because they use the oxygen present in raw water to oxidize metals. As a result, raw water must contain a certain amount of dissolved oxygen and the pH must be at least 6.8 to remove iron and 7.5 to remove manganese. Even in ideal conditions.
Figure 7. Image of iron and manganese catalyst media.
Ion or ion exchange systems.
– Water softener.
The most frequent and used ion exchanger is the water softener, used to soften hard water. Hard water contains calcium and magnesium compounds, which, when precipitated, form layers of which can clog pipes or damage industrial equipment, especially those that use high-temperature water such as boilers or heaters.
Calcium and magnesium are the two most fouling minerals that are present in water.
The exchange that softener resins do is for Sodium (Na), when the water passes through beads (resin), they retain calcium and magnesium ions, and release sodium. Therefore, when the resin is saturated with calcium and magnesium, it is necessary to regenerate with a brine solution, to re-saturate the resin with this element and release the calcium and magnesium to continue its operation. Salt (sodium) needs to be added periodically to the brine tank.
– Demineralizers with ion exchange resins.
Demineralization can refer to any treatment process that removes minerals from the water, the term demineralization is usually reserved specifically for ion exchange processes used to remove almost all ionic minerals. Often times, the terms demineralization and deionization are used interchangeably.
Demineralization uses cation and anion exchange resins, sometimes even in the same column or bed, also called mixed.
Some types of resin available in the market are:
How does ion exchange work to demineralize water?
In water, minerals and salts dissociate into their constituent ions. These dissolved solids consist of negatively charged ions known as anions, and positively charged ions known as cations, each of which is attracted to counter ions (or oppositely charged ions).
During an active cycle of deionization, a water with dissolved ions is introduced into the resin. The ions in untreated solution will swap places with the charged ions on the resin beads, clinging to the functional groups of the resin even as the resulting solution is drained.
Two independent beds demineralizers.
Two-bed or double-bed exchangers use two or more resin beds, each of which contains a specific type of resin. In two-bed demineralization, one is first treated with a strong acid cation resin (SAC) that captures dissolved cations and releases hydrogen ions (H +) in return. The resulting acidic mineral solution then passes into the strong base anion resin (SBA) bed. This second step retains anionic contaminants while releasing hydroxide ions (OH-), which combine with existing hydrogen ions (H +) to form water. The resulting water is low in TDS (total dissolved solids) and has a near neutral pH.
Mixed bed demineralizers.
Mixed-bed ion exchangers offer higher water quality compared to twin-bed systems. The mixed bed contains a mixture of different anionic and cationic resins in a single column. The water flow enters the mixed bed, the cation and anion exchange reactions take place simultaneously within the same equipment, which has the positive effect of avoiding sodium leaks that can compromise the quality of the water produced by a separate bed system.
While mixed bed exchangers produce higher quality water, they also require a more complex resin regeneration process, which requires separating the resins to regenerate separately. Additionally, mixed bed units are more susceptible to fouling from poorly performed regenerations.
The most frequent application for the mixed resin bed is demineralization after a reverse osmosis process, when treating water with very low TDS, its life time is longer without requiring frequent regeneration.
What factors should you consider when choosing a filter industrial of water ?
Different filters have advantages and limitations. You must consider all factors to achieve the required level of filtration. The following factors will be crucial to the performance of your filters:
– Level of contamination.
The use of a sedimentation pre-treatment if the raw water has large amounts of solid impurities. Also, you will need to carry out frequent cleaning and filter replacement if the water is heavily contaminated.
– Filtration volume.
The calculation of the treatment volumes depends on the purpose of use of the product water. Arrangement of supply sources, pipe diameters and pumping requirements.
Applications that require continuous filtration can overload systems and require non-stop work. In these cases duplex filters can be used to allow maintenance of the filters without stopping the treatment process.
In case the treatment can operate in batches, you can use simple filters and program the stop time for maintenance.
– Quality standards for the necessary filtration.
The quality of water you want after the filtration process will also determine the types of filters you need for your operation. If you are filtering water for human consumption, then your filters must be capable of eliminating compounds that are harmful to humans, described in Mexican regulations, such as the level of coliform bacteria, heavy metals and any other dangerous product.
– Operating conditions and requirements of your process.
Operating requirements include flow rate, pressure, and temperature. Each filter has an optimal and maximum operating pressure, temperature and flow. A design in which these variables were not taken into account can cause pressure drops or poor contact time, which can also damage your equipment and force you to stop the process.
– Nature and characteristics of the pollutants.
We must take into account the size and type of impurities that you need to filter. Solid and dissolved contaminants will require different types of filters. In industrial filtration it is necessary to be doing periodic analyzes of the pollutants, to avoid that they vary and that the system is installed.
In addition, we must determine whether the contaminants pose a health risk to employees. If so, then you will need a more specialized facility and support equipment to ensure maximum protection of the health of operating personnel.
– Operation cost of the filters.
You must consider the initial cost of the plant and other peripheral expenses, such as installation costs and site conditioning. In addition to a filter media replacement run as maintenance, salt refills for softeners (the latter can be reduced with salt-saving resin).
You also need to consider the cost of waste disposal.
Take care of the cost of long downtime for service and maintenance.
Where can the industrial water filter be used?
Industrial water filters can be used in various industries. You can decide to customize industrial water filters to meet the particular needs of your application. They are essential in the following factors:
- Hospitality
- Automobile assemblers
- Papermaking factories
- The food and beverage industries
- Chemical products
- Agricultural and irrigation applications
- Drinking water treatment
- Mining
- Petrochemicals
- Treatment of waste water
- Dyeing and pants industries
- Pharmaceutical treatment of water, among others.
What are the best materials for industrial water filters?
The materials used must be resistant to oxidation and strong enough to withstand high pressure working conditions. For these reasons, stainless steel offers the best material if your process meets sanitary standards and is resistant to changes in temperature and pressure.
Stainless steel membrane holders can be used in reverse osmosis systems to improve performance and life time.
Figure 9. Image of stainless steel membrane holders.
Figure 10. Image of stainless steel membrane holder components.
As an alternative, industrial filtration systems can use plastic, polypropylene and fiberglass exterior materials that can withstand high pressures because they are also resistant to rust and are cheaper. Engineered carbon steel industrial tanks are also available when flows exceed line tanks.
Figure 9. Image of industrial filtration systems with fiberglass tank.
What are the most commonly used filter media in industrial filtration?
For each application, the filter medium can be chosen from one of the following.
– Gravel and Silica sand.
Sand and gravel are materials widely used in water filtration. They are suitable for removing suspended particles and a little turbidity. The gravel is coarse, it is used at the bottom of the filter to support the filter media, it provides an even distribution of water.
– Activated carbon.
It is one of the most used materials to purify drinking water. This purifier is used for organic impurities, chlorine and to improve the smell and taste of the water.
– Calcite
This filter medium regulates the pH of acidic water. When water passes through it, the calcium carbonate dissolves and raises the pH of the water in the process. It also reduces the levels of lead, copper, and other metals.
– Anthracite.
This sediment filter medium that offers higher flow speed. In combination with sand and garnet or garnet. It also removes haze to a limited extent.
– Garnet.
It is a very hard granular medium, which makes it perfect as part of duplex or multimedia deep bed filters in combination with Anthracite. Furthermore, the main advantage of using this material is that it is highly resistant to abrasion and chemical erosion.
– Zeolite.
It is a filter medium that can retain suspended solids of up to 5 microns, due to its porosity. To a lesser extent than a resin it can make a slight cation exchange. It is a light material by density, so it can be backwashed with less energy. It can be used in filters for many industrial applications.
– Filter AG.
It is made of anhydrous silicon dioxide and is ideal for removing solid particles in suspension in multimedia equipment.
– Green Sand.
Contains siliceous material to catalyze water contaminated with hydrogen sulfide, iron and manganese
– Dolomite.
Increase the pH of drinking water after reverse osmosis filtration.
– Ion exchange resin.
Resin sIt is made of pure polymer spheres, saturated by saturation with a cation or anion to treat the exchange for another that is to be removed.
– Anionic and cationic ion exchange resin.
Ion exchange resins are small spheres made of polymers, capable of exchanging particular ions attached to their surface, with ions from a solution that are passed through them. These synthetic resins are used mainly to purify water, but also for various other applications, such as the separation of some elements.
What are the quality standards for the industrial water filter?
Different countries also have different standards for evaluating the integrity and safety of materials, especially when subjected to pressure. Different standards generally cover the reduction of various pollutants. The international organization that evaluates the quality standards of equipment and materials is NSF.
What water quality standards are there?
The International Organization for Standardization has developed more than 300 standards for water quality management. ISO / TC 147 section of the ISO standards provide methods on how to sample, test and report on the different contaminants present in water.
Contaminants include biological, microbiological, radioactive and physicochemical analyzes of the water.
The regulations provide guidance for the management of pollution of bodies of water with the primary objective of protecting human and aquatic life.
Industries have different internal quality standards for the manufacture and use of water in their industrial processes. But the rules that apply in Mexico are:
- NOM-127-SSA1-1994, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, WATER FOR HUMAN USE AND CONSUMPTION-PERMISSIBLE LIMITS OF QUALITY AND TREATMENTS TO WHICH WATER MUST BE SUBMITTED FOR POTABILIZATION (for water purification)
- NOM-244-SSA1-2008, Equipment and germicidal substances for domestic water treatment. Sanitary requirements
- NOM-041-SSA1-1993, GOODS AND SERVICES. PURIFIED PACKAGED WATER. SANITARY SPECIFICATIONS
How much does an industrial water filter cost?
The cost of industrial water filters varies considerably depending on the type and size of the filter. The design and dimensions of the equipment is directly related to the quality of water and the flow to be treated. You can contact us and we will help you design the right equipment for your water.
How can you remove excess chlorine from the water?
Chlorine is one of the most common contaminants in industrial and municipal treated water. Therefore, it must be eliminated or reduced to non-toxic or undesirable levels before the water reaches the point of use. Activated carbon equipment reduces chlorine very effectively.
Chlorine is an oxidant that does a pretreatment job to kill microorganisms, but it can be detrimental to ion exchange resins and especially reverse osmosis membranes. That is why activated carbon has this special function in the treatment prior to the passage of a softener, a demineralization system and reverse osmosis.
How many times do you have to change industrial water filters?
The service life of industrial water filters depends on the type of granular medium used, the intensity of use and the level of contamination of the water.
A cartridge filter can take between two and six months in regular operation while other equipment that carries granular media beds may need changes annually or every three to four years. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for changing each filter media, to avoid leakage of contaminants or change them prematurely.
As for the tanks, cartridge holder or casing, their changes can be between ten and twenty years.
When to maintain industrial water filters?
Backwashing is the cleaning that the industrial water filter needs. You can clean most industrial water filters by backwashing with water or pressurized air. The quality of the process water determines the frequency of the backwash.
For highly polluted water, such as river or underground water, it is recommended to do it more frequently after at least two days, but for clean water, it can work for up to two or three weeks.
You can also get filters that have valves with an automatic backwash system. When the differential pressure reaches a marked level, it sends a signal to the control to activate the self-cleaning mechanism. The system flushes dirt out by reversing the flow of the filtered fluid.
Cartridge filters are simply replaced with new ones when the level of dirt indicates a drop in water line pressure.
Schedule periodic inspection, lubricating oil appropriately. Make sure the pressure gauges are working properly, the reverse osmosis membranes test for total dissolved solids to avoid saturation, and clean membrane cleaners frequently.
Can industrial water filters remove bacteria?
Yes, chlorine, ozone and ultraviolet radiation are the most useful purification methods for disinfection of water. Reverse osmosis can technically remove bacteria from water using reverse osmosis. However, it is not its main purpose.
When should you replace the water filters?
Differential pressure indicates when the cartridge filter should be replaced or deep bed backwashed. Although most industrial filters will need to be replaced in 2-3 months, the level of contamination and frequency of use will determine the life of the filter. From this guide, it is clear that the choice of industrial filters should be evaluated a number of aspects. In an overview of everything you need to consider.
What are the benefits of industrial water filters?
The use of industrial water filters to produce pure, fresh water has several advantages. They are between them:
– Cost of maintenance of your machinery and equipment.
Filters remove contaminants that can affect the operation of the machinery you use in your business. Protection of equipment is sensitive in the application will result in maximum productivity and less downtime for repair.
– Savings in energy cost.
The correct pumping calculation and new technologies such as disc filtration or double recirculation in reverse osmosis systems can save on the energy consumption of your plant. You can trust that we will make the correct calculation and reduce electricity consumption.
– Increase in operational efficiency.
Using new technology filters more efficiently will help you reduce waste to drain or even achieve a zero fluid discharge policy if you work in an environment where water is a scarce resource. CDL (ZLD) policy is a fundamental production technology that must be adopted by industries located in dry and arid regions.
– Sustainable production.
Environmental issues have seen a lot of emphasis on the production process that supports sustainable production. Rapid population growth, industrialization, urbanization, and climate change exacerbate the situation. We must also make sure that the wastewater you produce does not pollute the environment. People’s awareness of the need to preserve the environment is increasing, and non-compliance could affect brand image and sales.
If any of these problems arise in your industrial plant, contact us to help you solve them.
