Protect Equipment and Instruments With In-line Filters

Examples of 3B Filters 8500 Series In-line Filters

Industrial, commercial, and scientific processes and operations involving liquids and gases are all likely candidates to benefit from the proper application of in-line filtration. Filters are designed to capture and retain foreign matter that might otherwise cause wear, damage, or other unwanted impact in a fluid system.

Selecting a filtration assembly requires consideration of a number of inputs by the process operator. It is important to correctly specify the filtration unit in order to avoid undue impact on the process and achieve the desired level of protection.

• Media Compatibility - The materials of construction must accommodate any potential corrosive effects of the media. Additionally, there should be no impact on the media from the filter housing materials. The same is true for the filter element.
• Temperature - Filter element and any housing components must be able to withstand whatever extremes of process temperature are anticipated.
• Pressure - The entire assembly must be rated to withstand the full range of possible operating pressures, perhaps with a suitable amount of headroom.
• Flow - The filtration assembly should be sized to accommodate the process fluid flow without excessive pressure drop or other flow interference.
• Capture - Survey the needs of instruments or equipment intended to be downstream of the filter. These are the items the filter is protecting. What are the particulate contaminant limits or tolerances of the downstream devices? Whichever has the lowest tolerance for foreign matter is likely the governing element for filter particle size retention. The filter element, whether disposable or cleanable, must be selected to prevent or limit passage of the smallest particle size that will impair operation of the downstream components.
• Retention - As particulates are trapped by the filter, the unit begins to clog and possibly impair flow. Processes will have varied filter element replacement protocols along the continuum of whether filter elements are changed frequently or left in place until flow impairment. Select a filter element size suitable to the anticipated contaminate load of your process. Higher levels of expected particulates generally indicate a need for a larger filter element to provide the capability to retain the contaminates while still allowing for sufficient passage of clean fluid.

There can be many other considerations for filter selection that may come into play for specific installations. Most important is to not forget to put filtration protection in place. It is cheap insurance against excessive wear and damage to sensitive instrumentation and equipment.

I have included below a product overview from 3B Filters, Inc., a long time manufacturer of filter housings, elements, and related fittings and accessories. Share your filtration requirements and challenges with product application specialists, combining your process expertise with their product knowledge for the most effective solutions.

Product Overview 3B Filters Inc. from Hile Controls of Alabama, Inc.