Ultrafiltration (UF) is a pressure-driven purification process that separates particulate matter from soluble compounds using an ultrafine membrane media. Ultrafiltration is an excellent separation technology for desalination pretreatment, reverse osmosis pretreatment, and wastewater reclamation, as well as for producing potable water.
With over 70 years of separation-technology leadership and products in more than 1,000 ultrafiltration installations worldwide, we offer a portfolio of products designed for outstanding membrane separation, extreme productivity and efficiency, and exceptional reliability.
As with most conventional filtration methods, sand filters and media filtration require consistent raw water quality to deliver quality effluent, which is not always possible. They also don't provide an absolute barrier. Traditional media filters typically remove particles to down to about 5 microns.
Ultrafiltration (UF), however, does not suffer from those limitations. This technology uses an ultrafiltration membrane barrier to exclude particles 0.02 to 0.05 microns, including bacteria, viruses, and colloids, meeting increasingly stringent water-quality standards around the world, and providing a stable, reliable, and consistent water quality.
UF offers:
When used as a pretreatment for reverse osmosis (RO) , UF also helps reduce fouling of the RO membranes, which can lead to:
In ultrafiltration, water and low-molecular-weight substances are passed through an ultrafine membrane by the application of pressure to the system; flow through the membrane is achieved by applying a pressure gradient between the outer and inner walls of the membrane structure. Feed pressure is from 4 to 100 psig (typically < 30) and transmembrane pressure is generally <14 psig.
Ultrafiltration membranes have pore sizes in the range of 0.02 – 0.05 microns, which contributes to the production of high-quality water; the pore-size range means that the purification process is characterized by a high removal capability of bacteria, viruses, colloids, and silt. The process, however, does not reject particles smaller than the pores, such as dissolved salts or organics; nor does it reject other species such as true color, taste, and odor.
Ultrafiltration membranes have a service life of three to seven years (and potentially longer). They are commercially available in hollow fiber, tubular, plate, and frame, as well as spiral wound configurations.
Our ultrafiltration modules are made with high-strength, hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membranes that offer the following features:
The outside-in flow configuration is tolerant of wide-ranging feed water qualities and allows air scour cleaning. The dead-end flow offers higher recovery and energy savings. The pressurized vertical shell-and-tube design eliminates the need for separate pressure vessels and allows easy removal of air from cleaning along with integrity testing steps.
The hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes are 1.3 mm outside diameter and 0.7 mm inside diameter and are made from PVDF polymer. The fibers are strong due to a combination of PVDF polymer, an asymmetric membrane with smaller pores in the active filtration area, and a high porosity substructure. PVDF membranes offer high chemical resistance (e.g., resistance to chlorine) and are tolerant to temperatures of 40°C.
As with most conventional filtration methods, sand filters and media filtration require consistent raw water quality to deliver quality effluent, which is not always possible. They also don't provide an absolute barrier. Traditional media filters typically remove particles to down to about 5 microns.
Ultrafiltration (UF), however, does not suffer from those limitations. This technology uses an ultrafiltration membrane barrier to exclude particles 0.02 to 0.05 microns, including bacteria, viruses, and colloids, meeting increasingly stringent water-quality standards around the world, and providing a stable, reliable, and consistent water quality.
UF offers:
When used as a pretreatment for reverse osmosis (RO) , UF also helps reduce fouling of the RO membranes, which can lead to:
In ultrafiltration, water and low-molecular-weight substances are passed through an ultrafine membrane by the application of pressure to the system; flow through the membrane is achieved by applying a pressure gradient between the outer and inner walls of the membrane structure. Feed pressure is from 4 to 100 psig (typically < 30) and transmembrane pressure is generally <14 psig.
Ultrafiltration membranes have pore sizes in the range of 0.02 – 0.05 microns, which contributes to the production of high-quality water; the pore-size range means that the purification process is characterized by a high removal capability of bacteria, viruses, colloids, and silt. The process, however, does not reject particles smaller than the pores, such as dissolved salts or organics; nor does it reject other species such as true color, taste, and odor.
Ultrafiltration membranes have a service life of three to seven years (and potentially longer). They are commercially available in hollow fiber, tubular, plate, and frame, as well as spiral wound configurations.
Our ultrafiltration modules are made with high-strength, hollow-fiber ultrafiltration membranes that offer the following features:
The outside-in flow configuration is tolerant of wide-ranging feed water qualities and allows air scour cleaning. The dead-end flow offers higher recovery and energy savings. The pressurized vertical shell-and-tube design eliminates the need for separate pressure vessels and allows easy removal of air from cleaning along with integrity testing steps.
The hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes are 1.3 mm outside diameter and 0.7 mm inside diameter and are made from PVDF polymer. The fibers are strong due to a combination of PVDF polymer, an asymmetric membrane with smaller pores in the active filtration area, and a high porosity substructure. PVDF membranes offer high chemical resistance (e.g., resistance to chlorine) and are tolerant to temperatures of 40°C.
Our powerful ultrafiltration product portfolio features IntegraFlux™ Ultrafiltration Modules and IntegraPac™ Ultrafiltration Skids that utilize our latest high permeability XP fiber to improve operating efficiencies and productivity. The modules incorporate PVDF hollow fiber membranes in an outside-in flow configuration with a 0.03 micron nominal pore diameter, making them an excellent choice to protect downstream processes such as reverse osmosis. The modules provide superior performance, with an industry-leading ultrafiltration membrane area with low-energy and chemical consumption, effectively minimizing the number of modules needed for your design. The modules are an excellent choice for high removal capability for viruses, bacteria, suspended solids, colloids, and pathogens from water and have been tested and certified by NSF International under NSF/ANSI Standard 61, and also have NSF/ANSI 419 LRV certifications facilitating safe use in drinking water applications.
Our IntegraFlux™ and IntegraPac™ families of pressurized ultrafiltration (UF) modules give you the flexibility to select standard-grade ultrafiltration modules or premium-grade filtration modules with XP fiber, which provide up to 35 percent higher permeability than previous generation modules and result in improved operating efficiencies and productivity. Our IntegraFlux™ UXA-2680XP UF modules with XP fiber deliver groundbreaking high-flux, low energy performance, and their design makes switching modules easy — no hardware or process changes needed to switch from your lower-pore-size microfiltration (MF) modules.
Our IntegraPac™ skids are pre-engineered, standardized, and ready to assemble. They are comprised of IntegraPac™ modules, auxiliary parts, and piping, and can significantly streamline design, assembly, and installation.
View a list of our industry-leading ultrafiltration products.
Our technologies provide premium solutions for a broad range of industries. Learn more about the industries that depend on ultrafiltration.
We help everyone’s favorite foods and beverages taste better with advanced separations of sugars, dairy streams, and other nutritional ingredients.
Our technologies and solutions are designed to help you overcome water challenges to produce your desired quantity and quality of industrial utility water.
We develop best-in-class technologies, accompanied by an advanced product portfolio of solutions, to address your crucial wastewater challenges.
We help ensure a steady flow of clean, safe drinking water into local communities with our water-treatment solutions.
We help energy companies improve operational efficiency with specialized water treatment and wastewater reuse.
We enable the smooth and safe operation of power plants through innovative water-treatment and wastewater reuse.
Ask us how ultrafiltration can help you achieve stable, reliable, and consistent water quality.