Filtration media for niche applications will be in demand in the coming years, including media such as filters made from ceramic fibers pictured above.

Scouting Out Trends, Developments and Unmet Needs in Filtration
By Edward C. Gregor

From a list of priorities, market intelligence is the most important need for American Filtration & Separations Society (AFS) Corporate Sponsors. This was learned at the 2010 AFS Spring Conference in San Antonio in late March. This article features a high-level overview and a few specific insights into the subject of where the filtration and separations market is today and where it is headed. The overview certainly is not all encompassing, but provides a brief summary for readers having an interest in the subject.

Filtration Trends
There are several fundamental characteristics or macro-trends in the filtration market. They include:

• Finer Filtration is in demand pretty much across the board as manufacturers from automotive to semiconductor manufacturing seek to increase product performance.
• More filtration media is in development for niche applications in the form of specialized membranes, nano fibers, ceramic fibers or high-temperature spunbond and meltblown nonwoven fabrics from specialty polymers than were in the past.
• Environmental consciousness is evolving as filter buyers are seeking long-filter life and/or the elimination of disposable filters using a systems approach.
• One world manufacturing, distribution and sales. As communications, markets and currencies are more unified, multi-national filter customers expect filtration products to be available locally from suppliers as they install production overseas.
• Legislation by local, regional and international bodies increasingly enacting laws to prevent, reduce and clean-up contamination.

Trends are long-term changes in the market, which often span many years across the industry as a whole. There are other ongoing micro trends in niche markets that relate to the fundamental longer-term trends listed above.

Latest Developments
It’s important to understand the difference between the “tweaking” and enhancing a product design or function, and true new product development. There is no black and white definition, but mostly shades of gray. There are certain new developments and emerging technologies worth commenting on. The developments described below revolve around filtration media and new filter, equipment or process design.

Coalescing media has proven capabilities for removing oil from water and oily mist from air at levels heretofore not achievable by other media.

New Filtration Media
HEPA Media: Wetlaid glass filtration media has been the preferred in HEPA air filtration in semiconductor cleanrooms, laboratories, surgical operating theaters, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and in the production of LCD screens. Over the years, end-users at semiconductor manufacturing companies have sought an alternative media to glass to reduce off-gassing and wafer contamination. Alternative media such as PTFE membranes have been used, but the cost remains a shortcoming, limiting its use. Now, a new nonwoven filter media with extremely fine polymeric fibers is increasingly capturing a portion of the market at a cost comparable to wetlaid glass media has dominated.

Mercury Removal Media: Mercury (Hg) reduction has been an enigma to regulators, the general public and producers of media and process facilities alike. Many materials and processes have been tried to solve this vexing problem. To date, the preferred materials have been activated carbon, but because of overall efficiency limitations along with reprocessing and waste disposal issues, users and environmental regulators continue to seek improved solutions. Now, a new media and system reports success at 100 percent efficiency in very large-scale natural gas processes with the ability to concentrate mercury and completely eliminate media waste, regeneration and hazmat disposal. In time this technology likely will be developed to work with coal-fired power plants and cement factories, the two largest mercury emitters.

Nanofibers and Nano Media: By last count there were over 30 companies either developing or in commercial production with nanofiber or webs, yet few will ever achieve meaningful sales success. Too many media manufacturers are enthralled with the ability to make nanofiber materials without an understanding of the performance requirements of the markets and customers. With that said there are suppliers who have created winning constructions, primarily for air filtration. Only one company has fully commercialized a nanofiber for liquid filtration, made from a combination of boehmite and glass, which works via electro-adsorbitive and ion exchange properties, not mechanical filtration. A second company has products in development from all commodity and specialty polymers, processable into nanofiber in most nonwoven formats for air and liquid at substantially greater speed than electrospinning.

Advanced Filter Capabilities
Coalescing Separators: Coalescing media has traditionally used glass fiber and other materials such as E-CTFE fluoropolymer nonwoven as the media of choice and state-of-the-art. For advanced separations for challenging separations a new medium has emerged as a worthy challenger. The patented material consists of a viscoelastic polymer, which is saturated into polymeric filtration media or filters achieving separations of oil and chemical suspensions as low as one micron in size. Examples of the ideal use for the technology are difficult oil/water separations in produced and bilge water and storm water applications. The same technology has proven capabilities for removing oily mist from air at levels heretofore not achievable by other media.

High-Capacity Pleated Cartridge: These commercial filters are capable of using a wide selection of filtration media. The filters are designed to have significantly higher effective filtration surface area and dirt holding capacity than traditional pleated filters of similar size for use where large quantities of liquid are processed. Specific market segments where the high-capacity filter has meaningful market share growth potential, because of comparatively low cost and high dirt hold capacity are: beer, wine and soft drink make-up water processing, pulp and papers mills, RO prefilters, coolant and hydraulics filtration, swimming pool filters, coalescing filters, oil, gas, and chemical process filters; and for air: truck and off-road vehicle engine in-take and gas turbine filters. In short, there are few applications where this patented filter cannot excel compared to incumbent filters.

Pleated Ceramic Filters:  Ceramic filtration materials and products have traditionally held a micro portion of the filtration market. Beyond wall-flow ceramic filters used in diesel exhaust filtration, ceramics have not gained a meaningful toehold in the market in spite of their enormous potential for use in high-temperature and corrosion resistance applications. Now, wetlaid ceramic filter media with ceramic binders fabricated into pleated filters are being sold. This patented technology reduces the cost of conventional ceramic filter systems and increases percent porosity without affecting filter efficiency resulting in lower differential pressure compared to well-established ceramic filter configurations. The filters are engineered for use in air or liquid applications where polymeric and metal filters cannot withstand challenging environments. Equally important, the filters are cleanable in-situ.

High-capactiy pleated cartridge filters are capable of using a wide selection of filtration media, and are designed to have higher effective filtration surface area and dirt holding capacity.

Unmet Needs
A number of unmet needs in the filtration market can be seen, some of which potentially can be solved with in-depth market research and an internal company skunkworks devoted to basic and applied research in designing the next big-think idea. To those who say, filtration is a highly price-competitive market without high-margin opportunities, one only has look at the profitability of membrane companies. Other high-margin examples include precision woven wire cloth and monofilament woven fabrics, neither of which are a bargain. As these examples demonstrate, customers clearly will pay for performance. In the future, other new media and filters will gain market share from commodity materials and products as filtration users overall seek improved performance.

The following is a list of unmet needs the author believes provides additional new product development areas and opportunities for the future:

• Air filters: Filters with high-MERV ratings, which yield higher flow rates and lower pressure drop
• Filter Aid Substitutes: Filter aids, such are diatomaceous earth, have proven effective, but present disposal issues. We need alternative choices for high-volume uses like beer, wine and the process industries in general.
• Membranes: MF/UF and RO membranes or substitute materials with high efficiency possessing greater flow rate, lower differential pressure and energy requirements.
• Neutralizing Media/Systems: More effective catalytic or other media capable of rendering various contaminates, including toxic substances environmentally friendly. Cigarette and coal-fired power generation filters may be the most challenging of all the needs, but would do wonders for humanity.
• Nonwoven Fabric: A melt-spinnable nonwoven with vastly improved fiber distribution properties and a three dimensional cross-section.
• Power Generation: Baghouse filters,dust collection cartridges or other devices able to withstand greater chemical resistance at substantially elevated temperatures.
• Reusable Filters: New design concepts for multiple use or better yet, permanent filters, which reduce the need for disposable filter and waste.
• RO/UF Membrane Support: Material capable of being more consistent, including the elimination of standing fibers and uneven thickness across the width.
• Triboelectric Media: Wider use of triboelectric media and from one material of construction.

There is an ongoing need for greater innovation in filtration and separation as new developments has slowed in recent years. As the economy improves, one can only hope more companies add increased funding to R&D and product development. At the end of the day, this is the lifeblood of any company manufacturing materials, component parts and filtration products.

Edward C. Gregor, Edward C. Gregor & Associates, LLC is a specialist in bringing new technologies to market and M&A in the filtration, fibers, nonwoven and polymers industries. Mr. Gregor is also chairman of the International Filtration News Editorial Board, and can be contacted by phone: 1-704-442-1940 or by email: ecg@egregor.com