Crystar® Ft Ceramic Membrane Filters

From public outcry about the environmental impact of fracking, to disposal regulations, limited number of disposal wells, and trucking and infrastructure issues, the focus on water recycling is becoming more critical than ever.

Water resources are becoming scarce. Cost effective water recycling is critical to the success of the expanding global fracking oil and gas activities. 

Using advanced silicon carbide membranes from Saint-Gobain significantly reduces the equipment footprint, capital costs, shortens the water treatment process and reduces chemical usage.  

Saint-Gobain is a worldwide leader in combining material and forming process expertise with application understanding to offer standard and customized ceramic membranes for challenging liquid filtration applications.

Ceramic filter applications

• Applications that involve extreme conditions, such as extreme high temperatures, pressures or pressure pulses and high corrosive solvents such as strong acids or lyes.

• Filtration of media containing abrasive particles or for high solids bulk processes.

Crystar® ceramic membranes were engineered for cutting-edge water microfiltration that provides a cost-effective method for the production of drinking water and the recycling of waste water. This innovative water microfiltration technology is comprised of multiple layers of recrystallized silicon carbide, with high filtration areas and improved filtration fluxes. Crystar ceramic membranes have been engineered for both cross flow and dead-end water microfiltration, with an extensive range of potential applications in the water and waste water sector.

Technology

Crystar® ceramic membranes filter pool water through a unique honeycomb dead-end architecture  of parallel channels with stable and well-engineered porous microstructure. This specific geometry features a very high filtration area in compact filtration membrane elements (11 m2 in a filtration membrane element of 149 x 149 x 1000 mm). Combined with the modular design of filtration systems, Crystar filtration technology is the perfect solution for filtration systems installation or upgrading in limited spaces or with difficult access.

The honeycomb geometry also allows for fast backwash cycles with low water consumption. Only 30-80 liters are needed during a backflush of 3 to 5 seconds to clean a Crystar® membrane. Frequent backwashing of the filtration membranes contributes to the reduction of chloramines and trihalomethanes, reducing skin and eye irritation as well as the risk of diseases such as asthma and allergy due to the long-term exposure to these chlorinated compounds.

Crystar® dead-end filtration components are monolith components with a unique honeycomb structure allowing great compactness and efficient operation. They are certified for swimming pool and drinking water according to USA norm NSF 50/61.

In dead end filtration, all the water that enters the channels of the filter is pressed through the membrane. The filters developed by Saint-Gobain consist of multiple parallel channels that are alternately open and closed at the inlet and outlet faces. The water enters through the inlet channels, is filtered by a membrane with fine pores, passes through the wall of the channel and leaves the filter through the outlet channels. Dead end filters have parallel channels that are alternatively open and closed. 

Crystar® crossflow filtration components comprises tubular components fabricated from multiple layers of recrystallized silicon carbide. They have the most permeable carriers on the market, which enables high permeate transfer and very effective backwash or back flush operations. They are certified for food contact according to EU regulation 1935-2004.

Tubular crossflow filters are used for the clarification of wine and for the treatment of industrial effluents, among other applications. Source: Saint-Gobain Performance Ceramics & Refractories 

• Crossflow filtration uses a selective porous membrane that filters highly loaded liquids for purification or clarification. Tubular crossflow filters have been used for the clarification of wine, along with the filtration of dairy, fruit juices and water, for chemical recovery and for the treatment of challenging industrial effluents.

• Crossflow filtration gets its name because the majority of the feed flow travels longitudinally along the surface of the filter channels, whereas the filtered permeate flows radially through the carrier porosity. The structure of the traditional crossflow filters is tubular and consists of a carrier that is the base material, and on top of it is the filtration membrane, which is a thin, porous layer applied on the carrier.

The efficiency of crossflow filtration technology to treat highly loaded and high fouling streams, makes it widely used in industries around the globe. Crystar® FT ceramic membranes are the next generation of ceramic microfiltration.