Fleetguard, Inc.

Nelson Industries, Inc.

Gene A Mullins, Jr

Barry Mark Verdegan

Brian W Schwandt

William C Haberkamp

Matthew P Henrichsen

Daniel R Cady

W Lee Currier

A method for making high temperature filter media is provided by melt-spinning a plurality of fibers of preceramic thermoplastic polymer to form a nonwoven textile web of the fibers, curing and cross-linking the thermoplastic polymer to a thermoset polymer, and thermally decomposing the thermoset polymer to ceramic. Between the melt-spinning step and the curing step, the web is formed to a filter pre-form in a green state while still pliable and malleable. The filter pre-form is cured without re-melting the thermoplastic polymer and without destroying morphology.

Melt-spun ceramic fiber filter and method

A filter is composed of filter media having the following characteristics in combination: a) the filter media has a greater affinity for the filtered fluid than for contaminants in the fluid, and wherein the work of adhesion between the filter media and the contaminants is less than the work of adhesion between the filter media and fluid, and wherein the filter media is preferentially wetted by the fluid relative to the contaminants; b) the filter media is composed of fibers having a defined surface area ratio facilitating fewer attachment sites for contaminants, and, in the case of cleanable reusable filters, facilitating cleansing backwash of the cleanable reusable filter by cleansing fluid along a reverse flow backflush path; c) the filter media has a thickness of 0.025 to 0.075 inch, 0.7 to 2.0 millimeters; d) the face area of the filter media is maximized by pleating the filter media and forming the pleated filter media into an annulus having an inner circumference and an outer circumference and having at least five pleats per inch along the inner circumference; e) the filter media is optionally provided with both upstream and downstream support layers preventing collapse of the thin surface filter media during both filtration and backwash, the support layers being pleated annular screens sandwiching the pleated filter media therebetween, the inner portions of the pleats of the downstream support layer screen adjacent the inner circumference preventing blinding.

Filter with preferential fluid affinity

Growing community of inventors

Cookeville, TN, United States of America

Gene A Mullins, Jr