Events Endless
Events Endless Possibilities for Enhancing Filter Efficiency take Center Stage at FILTECH 2024 Advanced air and water filtration systems meeting the stringent safety standards of major industries such as food and beverage processing and mining and mineral extraction were comprehensively showcased by 590+ Exhibitors at the recent FILTECH 2024 exhibition and conference held in Cologne, Germany. Across the food and beverages industries, rigorous specifications are in place to consistently guarantee safe processes, since even the tiniest impurities and contaminants can potentially reduce the shelf life of products or even result in the loss of entire batches. Advanced filter membranes excel in purification procedures in the production of, for example milk, cheese, sugar and sweeteners, while in many other areas, state-of-the-art biofilters are employed to remove a diverse range of contaminants, such as legionella, bacteria, parasites, turbidity, rust, drug residues, arsenic and any offending flavours. Filtration is also central to the taste of both tea and coffee. In mining operations meanwhile, there are equally stringent regulations applying to the control of dust, wastewater and other emissions which are being met by effective filter systems. Significant amounts of water are used for mineral processing and the separation of solids from liquids enables the reuse of water, reducing consumption and lowering environmental impact. Hazardous tailings - the waste material left after extracting minerals - are also effectively dewatered with the huge automated filter presses engineered by leading FILTECH exhibitors such as Andritz, Diemme and Metso, further cutting waste and preventing the formation of tailings ponds which can pose environmental and safety risks. During mineral processing, filtration systems also ensure high product purity by removing unwanted solids, improving both product quality and market value. The recovery of fine particles of valuable minerals that might otherwise be lost is another key benefit. International presence FILTECH 2024 set new attendance records, with over 590 exhibitors taking part and 61% of visitors from outside Germany, with a notable increase in international guests from North Africa, South America and the Middle East, as well as the established hubs in Europe, the USA and Asia. In parallel, over 200 lectures were presented at the FILTECH 2024 conference covering all aspects of the far-ranging filtration industry. In essence, optimising the efficiency of woven or nonwoven filter media is all about achieving the perfect balance between the material’s capacity to capture and hold dust or other particles and its pressure drop - its resistance to the air, liquid or gas that is being passed through it. There are of course, many parameters that can influence this - as well as a potentially endless range of potential fabric constructions - and intensive research and trials continue to be undertaken with the aim of optimizing this balance, which is always the underlying theme of the FILTECH conference. At the 2024 event, many forward-looking new concepts for optimising filter efficiency - from the customization of high performance membranes at the nanoscale to the adoption of AI and digital twins - were introduced to delegates. Media trends In terms of filter media trends, it was particularly notable at FILTECH 2024 that the integration of nanofiber particles and 38
Events webs into non-wovens is gaining increasing importance and the accommodation of sustainable raw materials as an alternative to synthetics was another key theme. Linking the two together, leading manufacturers of nanofiber production technology such as Elmarco and Invenso and their customers are widely exploring the introduction of renewable feedstocks and environmentally friendly solvents in the production of electrospun nanofibres. Promising new feedstock candidates include PETG - a costeffective polyester derivative as an eco-friendly alternative to PET which eliminates the need for processing with fluorinated solvents - as well as polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PL). Natural cellulose is also now being electrospun into ultrafine fibres as small as 300nm, possessing low thermal expansion while remaining lightweight yet strong. Chitosan is another bio-based polymer with excellent water uptake properties being used to form hydrogels. Green solvents are also being developed to replace toxic substances or those derived from petrochemicals in electrospinning. Nonwovens innovation Significant non-woven media developments introduced at FILTECH 2024 included MecNa, from Mativ brand Gessner, which unlike many nonwovens incorporating layers of continuous electrospun nanofibers, is characterized by individual nanofibers directly integrated into the non-woven at formation stage, to enhance both durability and performance. This media was initially developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, when guaranteed efficiency for critical healthcarerelated filtration applications became essential. In another interesting development, ProLine from Hollingsworth and Vose is a patented a new media which not only provides gradience in density, but also in fiber orientation. Typically, to achieve higher dirt holding capacity for a given efficiency, a filter media is designed to be dual phase, with a gradient density in the Z direction. The result is a significant improvement in dirt holding capacity and air permeability for a given required efficiency. A substantial rearrangement of the fibers in ProLine media generates both a higher surface area and new channels for air and liquid contamination capture. These are just two examples of the innovation that is constant from the FILTECH nonwovens community. Faster pleating In another notable trend, filter media pleating - a process unique to this industry - is becoming ever more widely adopted as technology suppliers increase performance speeds. Through pleating, filters can offer increased surface area and density without impacting airflow, enabling more particles to be collected without increasing pressure drop or energy consumption. The developers of pleating technology such as Switzerland’s JCEM, Germany’s Roth Composite Machinery and India’s A2Z Technologies are continuing to enhance their machines and at FILTECH 2024 models were demonstrated inserting pleats with depths of between 24-40mm into nonwoven filters at speeds of over 500 per minute. Constant innovation “At successive FILTECH exhibitions and conferences, I continue to be constantly amazed at the sheer diversity of applications for filter systems and the successive innovations that arise from the intensive R&D that’s behind this industry,” says Suzanne Abetz, FILTECH Managing Director. “Major new markets for effective filtration in such areas as the electrification of vehicles, hydrogen transportation and storage and carbon capture mean the industry is continuing to drive and expand technology options, and if you’re involved at any stage in this supply chain, FILTECH exhibitions and conferences are the place to be. You are welcome to join us at our next combined exhibition and conference which takes place in Cologne from 30 June to 2 July 2026!” drinkworld Technology + Marketing · March 2025 39
