Jan 13 2009
DuPont Nonwovens Vice President and General Manager Barry Granger recently delivered the keynote speech at Filtration 2008: International Conference and Exhibition, in Philadelphia, Pa. Barry spoke to more than 100 people in the air filtration value chain. He talked about how DuPont's commitment to sustainability and energy efficient products led to filtration, a market segment where DuPont can help make a difference through technology that eliminates tiny particles in our air, water and industrial fluids.
“We’ve developed a number of filtration-technology products, including spunbond flashspun and spunlaced media with more in development,” Barry said. “In one recent customer application, we tested a lighter basis-weight filter media with finer filtration. As a result, media consumption was cut by more than 50 percent — or nearly 100,000 yards of media per year. That represents only one of 24 applications at this account alone. All of this means savings for our customers.”
The product DuPont believes offers the greatest benefits for the filtration market is Hybrid Membrane Technology, or HMT. HMT is a sheet with continuous polymeric filaments between 100 nanometers and one micron in diameter. It offers the dual benefits of providing an effective barrier against contaminants, especially fine particles and allergens, and lowering “pressure drop” more than most commercially available filters. The use of HMT results in fewer filter devices and filter changes, reduced processing times and, in many cases, improved fluid quality. This comes in combination with lower weight for both inventory and disposal, and less disposal required.
In one application DuPont is studying, the projected reduction in flow resistance compared to the incumbent filter can save about $90 per filter, per year, in energy consumption. In a facility or hospital using 1,000 filters a year, that could translate to almost $100,000 saved every year. Furthermore, with a slight change in system design, some customers can replace a 3-stage filter system with a 2-stage filter system, saving even more - as much as $400 annually in that same facility or hospital.