Filtration Technology

Filtration is the process of separating suspended solid matter from a liquid, by causing the latter to pass through the pores of some substance, called a filter. The liquid which has passed through the filter is called the filtrate. The filter may be paper, cloth, cotton-wool, asbestos, slag- or glass-wool, unglazed earthenware, sand, or other porous material.

Filtration is very frequently employed in chemical technology, and it often presents great difficulties. In most technical operations, cotton cloth is the filtering material, but occasionally woolen or hair cloth is necessary. The cloth may be fastened on a wooden frame in such a way that a shallow bag is formed, into which the turbid liquid is poured. The filtrate, in this ease, is cloudy at first, but soon becomes clear, and then the turbid portion is returned to the filter. Filtration is often retarded by the presence of fine, slimy precipitates, or by the formation of crystals in the interstices of the cloth, from the hot solution. Any attempt to hasten filtration, by scraping or stirring the precipitate on the cloth, will always cause the filtrate to run turbid.

Filtration is a simple technique used to separate solid particles from suspension in a liquid solution. There are many filtration methods available, but all are based on the same general principle: a heterogeneous mixture is poured over a filter membrane. The filter membrane has pores of a particular size. Particles larger than the pores will be unable to pass through the membrane, while particles smaller than the pores will pass through unhindered. Additionally, all liquids will pass through. The final result of a filtration process is a collection of residue on the filtration membrane. This residue is therefore effectively separated from the rest of the mixture that passed through the membrane.

The filtration process can be mediated by the force of gravity. This is the simplest way to achieve a separation. A common example is the filter paper used in drip coffee makers. The coffee grounds are larger than the pores of the coffee filter so they stay in place while the hot water can pick up the coffee oils, flavors, and caffeine molecules and travel through to the pot below. 

• Filtration is used to separate particles and fluid in a suspension, where the fluid can be a liquid, a gas or a super critical fluid. Depending on the application, either one or both of the components may be isolated.

• Filtration, as a physical operation is very important in chemistry for the separation of materials of different chemical composition. A solvent is chosen which dissolves one component, while not dissolving the other. By dissolving the mixture in the chosen solvent, one component will go into the solution and pass through the filter, while the other will be retained. This is one of the most important techniques used by chemists to purify compounds.
• Filtration is also important and widely used as one of the unit operations of chemical engineering. It may be simultaneously combined with other unit operations to process the feed stream, as in the bio filter, which is a combined filter and biological digestion device.
• Filtration differs from sieving, where separation occurs at a single perforated layer (a sieve). In sieving, particles that are too big to pass through the holes of the sieve are retained. In filtration, a multi layer lattice retains those particles that are unable to follow the tortuous channels of the filter.Oversize particles may form a cake layer on top of the filter and may also block the filter lattice, preventing the fluid phase from crossing the filter (blinding). Commercially, the term filter is applied to membranes where the separation lattice is so thin that the surface becomes the main zone of particle separation, even though these products might be described as sieves.
• Filtration differs from adsorption, where it is not the physical size of particles that causes separation but the effects of surface charge. Some adsorption devices containing activated charcoal and ion exchange resin are commercially called filters, although filtration is not their principal function.
• Filtration differs from removal of magnetic contaminants from fluids with magnets (typically lubrication oil, coolants and fuel oils), because there is no filter medium. Commercial devices called ‘magnetic filters’ are sold, but the name reflects their use, not their mode of operation.