What is PTFE membrane?
PTFE membrane, commonly known as "Teflon" has been widely used on cookware for the past 60 years because of its superior non-stick qualities. It's also very useful when applied to outerwear, because it is waterproof and breathable at the same time. When viewed up close under a microscope, PTFE material is covered in tiny microscopic holes that looks similar to swiss cheese. These tiny holes allow vapors and gases such as air, water vapor to cross through the material easily while stopping denser materials including liquids, and dust particles from crossing through, making it an ideal filter treatment to use in dust collector applications.
How PTFE Membrane Works:
On a normal filter bag, dust begins to collect on the surface of the bag and creates a build-up of dust called a filter cake. In the cake, the particles come together and create a fairly good efficiency, typically about 99.97% or better. The filter acts only as the support for the cake and does not provide much filtration at all. When the bags are pulsed to clear the filter cake, some of the cake releases, but over time, the dust particulate embeds itself into the fabric causing failure or plugging of the system.
Conversely, when PTFE membrane is added to a bag it acts as the filter cake. The efficiency of the membrane is higher, exceeding 99.99% and can reach as high as 99.999%. The membrane allows for very little dust to stick to the bag so when the bags are pulsed, they clean very well. The dust stays on the surface and never gets embedded into the fibers of the bag.
Here are the main benefits of using PTFE treated bags in your dust collector:
Longer Bag Life
PTFE membrane bags stay cleaner than standard bags and have less filter cake so the bags don’t require system cleaning/pulsing as frequently as normal filter bags. PTFE Filters also don’t become entrained with dust over time like standard bags. Your PTFE bags will still be able to perform well when exposed to moisture. This means your PTFE bags will last longer, typically at least 2 times the life of standard filters.
Lower Maintenance and Labor Costs
Longer bag life for PTFE filters means fewer bag changeouts and labor savings because changeouts aren’t required as often. Because PTFE filters don’t become entrained with dust the system is much less likely to plug due to dust entrained bags. Less maintenance means less plant down time and peak performance over time so you can maximize your plant’s production.
Improved Air Flow and Pick-up Velocities
PTFE chemical properties reduce the amount of dust build up or “filter cake” that typically develops on standard filters. Because there is less dust build up on the outside of the bag, the air pressure that is created as dirty air travels through the bags into the clean air environment decreases and there is a lower pressure drop when the bags are pulsed to be cleaned. This lower pressure drop allows for more consistent and increased air flow. PTFE bags improve system pick-up velocities and plant hygiene as a result of the improved airflows.
Lower Energy Costs
PTFE filter bags do not need to be pulsed as frequently as standard bags to remove dust build up. This reduced amount of pulsing translates to less compressed air consumption which is required to pulse/clean the system. Your energy costs will go down because the system will be consuming less energy to clean the bags.
Less System Wear and Tear
PTFE bags reduce the amount of pulsing needed to keep the system clean and performing at peak because their chemical properties allow for cleaner dust capture. This reduction in system “wear and tear” means not only will your bags last longer, but your system will last longer and perform better, you won’t need to replace pulse valve diaphragms and solenoids as often because they aren’t being used as much and the system as a whole performs much more efficiently.
With the use of PTFE membrane bags your system performance will improve and provide all the benefits mentioned above. We recommend that these bags be used in nearly every application to allow peak system performance and plant production.
From USA filtration www.usairfiltration.com