Business

The Many Applications of Woven Filtration Fabrics

Photo of author

By Admin Desk

Woven filtration fabrics are a unique material used for a wide range of industrial applications. These fabrics are made up of tightly-woven threads that can be used for various purposes, such as removing impurities from water and removing harmful toxins from the air.

This has led to a wide variety of uses for these fabrics across the globe, such as being used in the filtration of water in areas that don’t have access to clean drinking water, like developing countries.

The Different Types of Woven Filter Fabric

Several types of raw materials are used to make woven filter fabrics. It’s all about what you want the fabric to do. Each material has its benefits and drawbacks, and the type of material you choose depends on what you want to use the cloth for.

Cotton

Cotton is a material most people are familiar with. It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to work with. It has excellent resistance to alkali but leaves something to be desired when it comes to resistance to acid. It’s good at filtering out some free radicals, but some fabrics do better.

The practical applications for woven cotton filter materials are limited, but they do benefit from not adding polluted substances to the filtration.

Nylon

Nylon is a synthetic material first developed in the 1930s. Since then, it has become a staple of the textile industry, from fashion to home furnishings. Nylon has strong abrasion resistance and is more resistant to free radicals than cotton.

Nylon works best at filtering out fine dust and solid wet materials as a filtration medium.

Polyester

Described as an industrial “work horse,” polyester is a synthetic fiber used in many applications. It has a high resistance to alkali-free radicals and better resistance to acid than cotton and nylon. However, it’s not as robust against alkali. Despite that, the material shines for its high tensile strength and durability.

Polyester makes an excellent woven filter fabric for pharmaceutical and culinary applications and in chemical plants that handle organic acids.

Polypropylene

The lightweight multifilament nature of polypropylene makes it an excellent material for liquid filtration. This is due to its deficient moisture absorption. It is also resistant to both acidic and alkaline chemicals. The downside is that polypropylene has a relatively low constant working temperature.

Polypropylene is suited for producing dyes and metallurgy and wastewater treatment.

Nomex®

Developed by DuPont, Nomex® is a flame-retardant fabric commonly used for high-temperature applications. It’s widely considered the industry standard for high-temperature filtration. Industries that use Nomex® include the aerospace industry, emergency fire services, and hot gas filtration. It is also used in the manufacture of racing suits to protect professional drivers.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass is another filter medium that is highly resistant to extreme temperatures. Its main advantage is that it can be molded into any shape and resist up to 550-degree F temperatures. However, it is not as flexible as other materials.

In terms of filtration, fiberglass makes an excellent medium for boiler applications. It is perfect in acidic environments.

Expanded PTFE

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is more commonly known as Teflon®. Across the board, it is the best-woven filter fabric for chemical applications. It scores higher than any other on resistance to acids, alkalines, and free radicals, even up to 550F degrees.

PTFE’s most significant application is in the chemical industry. Gas and liquid filtration are the most common industrial uses.