iCerMax^TM Ceramic Depth Medium

Manufactured from Wonderstone ceramic – Pyrophyllite, this enables several characteristic advantages over current ceramics and a multitude of conventional filtration media in the market place.

Ceramic Filters offer surety of sustainable cleanliness levels through depth filtration and offer absolute reliability in monitoring the filtration medium’s integrity with various inherent additional direct benefits. Setting new filtration standards in thermal, structural strength and chemical resistance in surroundings such as air, gas and liquid filtration as well as other industrial applications. We are able to utilise the iCerMax^TM ceramic even where other ceramics have failed. iCerMax^TM Ceramic Filters are an ideal multi-functional filtration medium which offers distinctive competitive advantages.

Depth filtration is closer to the perfect filter as it conforms closer to filter performance criteria. The effective repeatedly micron beta rating is substantially higher than surface filtration and the ultra important beta stability (see ref) uncompromised with our filter media. Therefore capable of continually removing micron contaminant at higher efficiency with vast increase in contaminant holding capacity

iCerMax^TM excels in all of the main Filtration criteria – Reliable Performance, High Integrity,
Resistance to flow or differential pressures, Collapse Strength, Structural integrity, Capacity / Efficiency, Longer Life Span, Lower Costs and Chemical Capability.

The iCerMax^TM product range includes: pre -filters and final filters with customisation of the porosity (efficiency), flow rates, micron rating, differential pressures and sizes to accommodate the functionality and diversity of the multiple applications in air, gas & liquids.

iCerMax^TM Ceramic filters offer the following advantages over traditional media:

1. Sustainable cleanliness levels can be maintained. The structural rigidity and strength of ceramics, compared to other types of filtration media, means that ceramic filters don’t form channels, don’t have medium migration and there is no risk of severe unloading of contaminants due to filter medium structural failure or due to flow or pressure surges.
2. Structural integrity. Due to its inherent strength and chemical resistant properties, ceramic filters can operate successfully under a wide range of operating conditions including fluid surge conditions, hammering effects, operating pressure (high or low), severe pressure variances, and chemical attack from contaminants such as surfactants, water, acids and biocides.
3. Sustainable Capture and Retention efficiency. Ceramic filters have very high collapsible strength. This is important because on collapse, unfiltered fluid can be routed back into the system. The ceramic filters will always block and not break thus achieving constant cleanliness levels.
   Dry start, cold start, restarts and multiple surges – crunch / ripping / unloading all cause medium distress or severe contamination unloading. This simply does not occur with iCerMax^TM ceramic filters. Most other mediums are severely compromised with these phenomena which are exponentially exacerbated when filtration mediums are contaminant loaded.
4. Low resistance to flow or differential pressures. The uniform porosity minimises pressure drops across the filter and resistance to flow. This low resistance has a direct bearing on the filter’s extended life.
5. Holding capacity and dirt retention. This is the “Achilles heel” of non-ceramic filtration media. In ceramic filters dirt remains in the filter due to the high structural integrity of the filter medium. We have developed methods to increase the dirt holding capacity.
6. Reliable filtration monitoring. As the ceramic medium does not compromise the filtration monitoring system, system sensors /pressure gauges reflect the actual real time status of the filtration process. This allows much more efficient management of the filtration system and takes the guess work out of estimating filter change intervals and of maintaining the required cleanliness levels. The actual real time status of the filtration process, would therefore eliminate estimated change intervals which are based on shifts, volume, or on hourly/ distance monitoring.
7. Cost effectiveness. Ceramic media, due to their large contaminant holding capacities and high structural integrity, are a cost effective alternative to traditional filter systems due to lower maintenance costs.
8. Flexibility. Ceramic media porosity can be customised, during manufacture, to suit the required flow rates, micron ratings and differential pressure requirements of the application.

There is surety of sustainable cleanliness levels compared to other market filtration mediums, as iCerMax^TM ceramics don’t form channels, don’t have medium migration and there is no severe unloading or element collapse. iCerMax^TM ceramics possess a non-flexi uniform depth filtration medium.

The advantages of using iCerMax^TM Ceramic Filters to main line ceramic filters

• Wonderstone (Multi-functional wear resistant ceramic filtration medium) – ideal for air, gas & liquids or any combination of these, as well as industrial applications.
• Structural integrity, iCerMax^TM eliminates filtration medium breakdowns or compromise caused by multiple surges, hammering effects, varying operating pressures (high or low), severe pressure, extreme heat (up to 1,200 ° C) and chemical resistant.
  Enhanced flange strengths and surface abrasion integrity.
  Chemical stability of oxide based materials.
  Migrate potential reactions with gas phase alkali processing.
  Oxidation resistant
  Multiple effective cleaning methods
  100% iCerMax^TM Pyrophyllite in composition, with no combinations of material. A combination of material leads to a disparity of internal stresses and to internal temperature disparities in the material itself.
• Thermal shock – resistant to severe instantaneous temperature changes. The porosity and functionality of the iCerMax^TM ceramics remain unchanged and intact. iCerMax^TM intricately possesses characteristics to handle instantaneous thermal shocks and combat thermal fatigue failure. Thermal coefficient of expansion 3.6×10-6 m/m K @25 – 600°C 100% iCerMax^TM Pyrophyllite in composition, no combinations of material, which leads to internal thermal disparities.
• Multiple cleaning methods for iCerMax^TM ensuring a favourable economic lifecycle. Reliable long service life in the harshest service conditions of multiple surges, pressures, instantaneous thermal shocks, chemical attacks, etc.
• Process application efficiencies: the inherent characteristics of iCerMax^TM allows for a functional optimisation design of processes, which requires a superior multi- functional filtration solution.
• With higher pressures / flow rates and their singular composition integrity iCerMax^TM ceramics set new standards in filtration with sustainable cleanliness levels and are totally in a league of their own.
• CerMax^TM ceramics excel in long term thermal, chemical and mechanical stability of the components during high temperature combustion operations or during gasification application. The iCerMax^TM ceramics provide overall structural integrity and extended operational lifecycles.

Particle and water contamination in fuels and oils

iCerMax^TM ceramic filtration is depth filtration with sustainable cleanliness levels. iCerMax possesses characteristics that ensure a market advantage over other medium. Nowhere is this more apparent than when one applies ceramics as a filter medium. This is not a new concept, as it is used extensively in water (capacity) and air (efficiency) filtration. iCerMax^TM however saw the potential to use ceramics for the filtration of hydrocarbons (fuels – diesel & petrol, oils-lubrication and hydraulics) – a new concept application in the global market.

With efficiency and cost, over the entire volume filtered at sustainable cleanliness levels, with no media collapse, no surge sensitivity, no channel formation or water sensitivity we are setting a new bench mark in FILTRATION with this non flexible, vast dirt holding capacity medium.

Especially when taking into consideration the versatility of the ceramic medium.
iCerMax^TM filter medium cannot be compromised; therefore “bad particle contamination” will lead to only filter blockage, not injector wear / failure or even engine failure. Normal filter medium will be compromised through various factors, most common on excess capacity and this will lead to contamination surges. There is a whole range of ceramics custom designed for various applications and cleanliness levels.

A ceramic fuel & oils depth filtration medium does not have any of the following depth filtration constraints:

• No water sensitivity at all (most depth filtration medium block with water instead of particle contamination)
• No channel formation or medium collapse
• Structural integrity – handles surges, pressure and heat with ease
• Ultra low resistance to flow and differential pressure
• Vast dirt holding capacity and high efficiency
• Physically separating clogging of hydrocarbons

And iCerMax^TM offers:

• Absolute surety of sustainable filtration – 100 % medium integrity
• Dirt remains in filter – non flexible / non channel formation medium – in other words no dirt surges or any seepage
• Higher pressures obtainable and filter integrity not compromised on pressures exceeding 1.3 bar – ceramics can handle high pressure, multiple surges, hammering effects, vibrations and high flow rates
• With higher pressures and its vast dirt holding capacity, bulk filtration is totally in a league of its own – setting new standards. With its high capacity it holds much more than current mediums do – thus it is ideal for refineries or bulk fuel tank installations
• Lower maintenance, less call outs, fewer resources required
• Wet start – no medium crunch or ripping due to initial flow surges
• Ideal for kerbside pump applications due to its low pressure and high surges nature
• Economical as it lowers cost per liter filtration with total confidence of sustainability

Both hard and soft contaminants penetrate into the depth media. Captures contaminants within its structure, as opposed to on the surface. Allowing for long life with minimal increase in pressure drop

Depth filtration – the General preferred technology – uses a relatively large volume of porous filtering media to capture contaminants at various depths deep within the filter element as the fuel and oil passes through. Depth filters featuring this type of construction provide maximum contaminant loading and long service life with a greater filter efficiency over a variety of particle sizes.

Semi-solid contaminants will penetrate the media and not glaze-over the surface as per surface filtration.

”if it flows through iCerMax^TM, the cleanliness levels are improved and sustainable, with depth filtration cleanliness levels”. The Ceramic medium simply can’t be compromise and thus it provides surety on sustainable filtration

• Depth Filtration not surface filtration
• Sustainable cleanliness levels with a single pass-100%
• High flow rates even with surges
• No channel formation or medium collapse
• Structural integrity – handles surges and contamination caking with ease
• High or low pressures, no element collapse
• Ultra low resistance to flow and differential pressure
• High efficiency – 100% sustainable
• Non flexi medium – improves filtration efficiency
• Vast dirt holding capacity -Long filter life: No water sensitivity
• No water or chemical sensitivity
• very small pores in the media are not blocked by large particles
• Physically separating clogging of hydrocarbons
• Even porosity throughout the medium
• Heat shock resistant –hot/cold/hot/cold etc
• Temperatures of 1500 c
• Manufactured to ISO 12000, ISO 12001 and ISO 14000 standards
• Excels in all of the eight main filtration criteria

Benchmarking sustainable cleanliness levels in filtration of:

• Fuel (diesel, petrol & biodiesel)
• OIL (hydraulic, gearbox & engine)
• Coolant, Air, (liquid or gas)
• Industrial filtration

It is structurally sound and can’t do the following:

Filter Performance Monitoring – Cellulose & synthetic medium will “break” due to excess contamination and dirt -holding capacity limitations, surges, pressure variances, water, bio diesels, surfactants, alcohol, heat, biocides, etc. – iCerMax^TM ceramics simply can’t and don’t break as they are not subject to these limitations. iCerMax^TM ensures sustainable filtration even on a single pass.