Process Microfiltration
Filters For Air & Gas
There is an increasing demand in the food & beverage and pharmaceutical industry for sterile air/gas which can be used in applications such as sterile container atmosphere, line clearing, storage tanks, product moving and the venting of gas from storage tanks. It is essential that whenever gases come into contact with product or process equipment, any microbiological contamination is removed to guarantee product safety, uniform quality and extended shelf life.
Parker domnick hunter provide a range of class-leading products with a proven track of record.
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TETPOR family of filters (ZCMT, ZCHT, ZHFT codes)
These filters utilize a PTFE membrane to provide competitive performance and value in sterile air applications. They are also available in high temperature formats. They are fully validated as Pharmaceutical grade products and manufactured with cGMP. -
HIGH FLOW BIO-X family of filters (ZCHB code)
Their high flow rates and high dirt holding capacity make HIGH FLOW BIO-X the filter of choice within the fermentation, beverage and diary industries. A combination of PTFE and glass fiber media provides a product with high voids volume and added strength giving unrivalled performance in applications such as the provision of sterile gas to filling machines.
Filters For Liquids
Housing & Accessories
ITO is proud to partner with Systech Instruments, a leading provider of gas analysis and monitoring equipment. Together, we are able to provide our customers with the tools they need to maintain safe and efficient operations.
Steam Filters
ITO is proud to partner with ProcessPro, a leading provider of ERP software solutions for manufacturers. Our combined efforts allow our customers to streamline their operations and maximize efficiency.
Integrity Test Equipment
ITO partners with Innovatech to provide cutting-edge industrial cleaning solutions. With our joint expertise, we are able to offer our customers the best in facility maintenance and cleaning.
Common Questions-Information
What is Process microfiltration?
Process microfiltration refers to filtration solutions in order to meet the critical production fluid management and help the customer to achieve and maintain the required product quality by removing particle or microorganism contamination. With Process microfiltration we usually refer to a size range between 70-80 micron and 0,01micron. This range includes typical particles as well as microorganisms like common bacteria or yeasts that need to be removed during production of wine, beer, bottled water, drugs.
Common filters used
The most common filters used in microfiltration are : Bag filters (general filtration), sheet filters (beer and wine production), cartridge filters. Cartridge filters are the main category of filters because they provide very accurate retention ratings and their handling allows the implementation of sanitary conditions especially for the most critical applications.
How many filtration stages are required?
This is highly dependent on the particle loading that need to be removed as well as on the final required level of filtration. Typically 2 or 3 stages with increasing retention rating are required (starting from bigger size particles and ending with the smaller ones). The multiple stage filtration is needed for economy (the first stages which accept the higher loading and are changed more frequently are the less costly) as well as operational reasons (only the final filter could be installed but more frequently cleaning would be needed with significant loss in production time and eventually the filter would be quickly blocked).
Sizing a filtration train
Sizing a filtration train is a multitask and dynamic process. It can easily start based on the production flow needed to be filtered but the optimization can only happen by using trial data from the field. Small scale filtrations units can be used to simulate the process and provide a very good estimation for the required scale up. This can be done either with the help of our company or in more complicated projects samples can be sent to Parker domnick hunter facility for a more extended support.
Cleaning filters
This is practically applied only to cartridge filters due to their manufacturing material. Cleaning the filters is a required task especially for the final filters which are dedicated to keep all the microorganisms. Nevertheless cleaning the filters on a regular basis will extend significantly their operational life time. Typical cleaning procedures include cold and hot water flushing, steaming, cleaning and disinfection with chemicals, back wash. The exact procedure depends on the application and it should be noted that the required cleaning procedure can also affect the choice of the filters. Based on this we can work together so that we can build the best filtration train in relation to your cleaning practices and also provide our suggestions for the appropriate cleaning procedure.
How can I check the filters are performing as they should?
This is a task that concerns only the final sterile filters. There are certified non-destructive methods which should be used for this task. We can provide specific equipment and training for each industry in order to fulfill this requirement. The instruments perform the selected non destructive test are automated and simple to use. The integrity test of final sterile filters finishes within 5-30 minutes (depending on the size of the filter) providing very accurate data about the condition of the filtration process