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Absorbents | Adsorbents
Absorbing Filter Media
By Dave Hill, Business Development Manager, Technical Absorbents
High bulk FilSAF nonwoven filter media are designed to provide excellent particulate and water removal performance.
As a result, they reduce oil mutagenicity and the risk of contaminant damage to parts, and machinery – thus extending the
working life of the oil. (Photo:© iStockphoto.com/4x-image)
The presence of water in oil and
fuels is an industry wide concern,
which gives rise to a wide
range of associated machinery damage
and poor fuel/oil functionality. There
are different methods of water extraction
from fuels and oils, including
gravity separation, centrifuge, polymer
absorption, vacuum dehydration, airstripping
dehydration and heating. All
have their advantages and disadvantages.
However, absorption is by far the
simplest and most cost-effective solution.
Here, Super Absorbents Fibre
manufacturer, Technical Absorbents
(TAL), provides an insight into its
technology and how it is employed
within this growing sector.
Water can exist in oil/fuel in three
different forms: dissolved, emulsified
and free. The latter two are potentially
hazardous in respect of impact
and must be avoided. Super absorbents
have been used for its removal
for some time, and can absorb
free and emulsified water from a wide
range of fuels, oils and gases.
UK-based Technical Absorbents
provides extremely high levels of in-
16 • August 2012 • www.filtnews.com
novation and product development
expertise to the filtration media markets
with its Super Absorbent Fibre
(SAF TM ) technology. TAL is part
of Bluestar Fibres Company Limited,
a subsidiary company of China National
BlueStar (Group) Company
Limited, which is wholly owned by
ChemChina.
The basic functionality of SAF is
its ability to absorb up to 200 times
its own weight in water, and 60 times
its own weight in saline, at an extremely
fast absorption rate. Being
fiber-based, SAF can be precisely tailored
into a diverse range of filter
media fabric formats that offer the
potential for enhanced design and
performance. Such media are designed
to offer high levels of in use
integrity with no shedding, to give no
contamination of the oil/fuel itself.
FilSAF TM (the specific product
brand of SAF for the filtration market)
is aimed specifically at this market.
It is the key component for a
wide range of enhanced nonwoven
filter media fabrics that are designed
for the removal of water and particulates
from aviation fuel, automotive
diesel and a wide range of oils. Such
fabrics help reduce problems associated
with water contamination in
such situations.
Its versatility gives rise to cost savings
over traditional cellulosic-based
absorption media, while offering full
compliance potential to stringent international
filtration standards – particularly
in the aviation fuel and
hydraulic oil markets.
APPLICATIONS
A significant reason for the majority
of oil and fuel system failures is
the presence of high water levels in
dissolved, dispersed and free water.
FilSAF-based filter media fabrics can
remove both dispersed and free water
to very low ppm levels at industry
leading rates. This leads to reduced
fuel and oil degradation and provides
the required filter quality for efficient
machine operation.
MONITOR CARTRIDGES
Monitor cartridges are based on
either outside-to-inside, or inside-to-