What is Cartridge Filters

Cartridge filters is one of the simplest form of filters. Therefore, almost certainly it is the most numerous of all filter products. Cartridge filter is a type of filter that consists of a cylindrical element, usually made of paper, synthetic fibres, or membranes, that removes suspended solids from liquids by surface or depth filtration. The element normally held in a correspondingly cylindrical housing, that carries the liquid inlet and outlet
pipes, and can open in some convenient way to allow the cartridge to be changed when it is full or exhausted

There are two broad classes of cartridge formats: fabricated and pleated. Fabricated cartridges are made from components such as rings, discs or yarns, while pleated cartridges are made from thin sheets of filter media that are folded to increase the filter area.

The yarn (or string) wound elements are the most commonly used cartridges in liquid filtration, having the advantage of filtration not only in the spaces between the turns of yarn, but also between the fibres of the yarn itself. Despite their popularity, yarn wound elements made from staple fibres have the disadvantages of inconsistent porosity, and, more particularly, of the migration of fibre fragments into the filtrate.

The filter media of cartridges can vary in thickness, porosity, and material, depending on the filtration mechanism and application. Some examples of cartridge media are resin-bonded, sintered, spunbonded, melt blown, and electro-spun fibres, as well as wire mesh and membranes.

Pleated media can be made from any thin material that can be folded without cracking: paper, spun-melt polymers, wire mesh, and nowadays sheet, microfiltration or ultrafiltration membranes. The sheet or membranes with appropriate protective meshes, is cut to size, pleated, wrapped around a central core, and its edges sealed.

Cartridge filters are widely used in various industries, such as hydraulic systems, engine filtration, pharmaceutical production, and water treatment. They offer advantages such as high efficiency, low extractables, thermal and chemical resistance, and antibacterial properties

It is unlikely that the cartridge filter will see major changes in design in the future, but there will undoubtedly be a continuing series of minor improvements such as removal efficiency, better throughput and cost in use.