Types of Vacuum Filtration and Their Methods

What are the different types of vacuum filtration and the involved methods?

Vacuum filters are used in removing particles in the direction of suction. And in order to identify the filter cartridge’s degree of contamination, it is located in a transparent bowl, and this filter cartridge is replaceable. Did you know that there are different vacuum filtrations that are used in various application? Here are as follows including the methods involved.

Chemical Filtration

This type of vacuum filtration changes the physical characteristic of a vapour or gas. They are used to adsorb toxic mercury vapours and then exhaust clean air into the surrounding environment.

Mechanical Filtration

In this type of filtration, particles are collected and retained in a physical barrier. Usually, it is with a series of cloth, paper filters and/or polyethylene that treat the intake air particulate or working of vacuum and exhaust clean air back into the environment.

There are factors that influence mechanical filtration of which include the air velocity at which the substance is travelling, the amount of time the filter has been used, the filter media, and the particle size of the substance being captured.

Air Velocity

This refers to the pace at which the particles move through the hose and then into the vacuum cleaner. The deeper the particles penetrate the filter media if they travel faster, for a particle travelling at a higher speed have the ability to push through the pores of the filter material. On the other hand, the particles that travel at a lower speed are easy to be captured on or between the weave or fibres of the filter media.

Running Time

Over the course of time, particles will gather up on the filter’s surface and then attach itself to the filter material, and such action of clogging is called filter loading or blinding. Just before the particles totally clog the filter pores, that is when the filter is most efficient, for the pores are smaller becoming a finer filter. The downside of this is that the vacuum cleaner’s performance is decreased for there is only little to no airflow to move the particles.

Filter Media

Depending on the link between the volume of air and the filter media’s surface area, it affects the filtering efficiency, known as the air-to-cloth (ATC) ratio. The more efficient the filtering system if the ATC is lower. Similarly, the less efficient the filtering system if the ATC is higher.

The optimum condition is a slow airflow through a large filter. Designed with this in mind, Nilfisk vacuum cleaners are equipped with oversized main filters to lower the air-to-cloth ratio.

Particle Size

Since filter media are too porous for small particles, they can easily penetrate. Simply, the smaller the particle, the tougher it is to be filtered.

Multi-Stage Filtration

This is a filtration system that is composed of a series of finer filters and is oversized and multi-stage. Such system captures smaller particles as the air travels through a vacuum cleaner.

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