Wedge Wire Screen Filters Versus Other Filtration Methods

What is Wedge Wire Screen?

Wedge wire, also known as profile wire or V-wire, is the basis of screening products. Unlike perforated plate or woven wire, wedgewire screens offer a 2-point particle contact and slot openings that widen in the flow direction so that particles are less likely to plug the screen.

A wedge wire filter is a heavy-duty filter device with V-shaped wires welded to support rods to form a sturdy screen with fine slot openings. It is designed to remove solids from liquids or gases and operate at high flow rates.

Its wedge-shaped profile inhibits particle clogging and guarantees consistent functionality, even in high-pressure or abrasive conditions. The filters can be customized in slot size, shape, and material, making them suitable for a wide range of industrial processes.

Common Applications

Wedge wire filters are commonly utilized in process filtration and water treatment plants (e.g., for intake screening, backwash systems). They are used in oil and gas production, where they separate sand from crude oil, and in chemical processing, where they recover catalyst.

In agriculture, they are used for irrigation filtration, and in the food and beverage industries, they are essential for starch extraction and juice clarification. Its corrosion-resistant versions are critical for desalination pre-treatment in marine settings.

Benefits Compared to Other Filters

Compared to mesh or perforated plate filters, wedge wire designs provide a higher mechanical strength and longer service life, as much as 20 years in aggressive environments. In high sediment applications, their self-cleaning mechanism virtually eliminates the need for maintenance about 30-50% of the time.

Wedge Wire Filters Versus Other Filtration Methods

Mesh Filters vs Wedge Wire

Wedge wire vs mesh filters: filtering performance differences and design considerations. Wedge wire filters are essentially V-shaped wires welded on the support profiles to achieve a specific slot opening, which does not accumulate particles. Filters made of interleaved wire mesh produce a finer filter but are prone to clogging and deformation under pressure.

Wedge wire, with its open surface area, is capable of handling upward of 40% higher flow rates in water treatment applications than mesh can. All in all, wedge wire constructs can face pressures of over 150 PSI compared to mesh filters, which get damaged above 80 PSI.

Mining industries, for example, favour wedge wire to filter heavily viscous slurries, while mesh is popular in laboratory environments, enabling sub-micron particle capture.

Wedge Wire vs Sintered Filters

Sintered filters provide micron-level filtration by using fused metal or plastic particles to form porous barriers. But their uneven pore structures restrict flow rates from being uniform and make mechanical cleaning a challenge. The uniform slot size of wedge wire filters allows easy backwashing and maintenance.

Corrosive fluids can lead to the degradation of sintered filters, but stainless steel construction enables wedge wire to withstand the impact of such environments over a long time. Wedge wire retains structural integrity at temperatures above 900°F for high-temperature applications like pyrolysis, while sintered filters begin to crack above 600°F.

While the former is used for pharmaceutical gas filtering, the latter prevails in demanding applications where they need durability and reusability.

Wedge Wire vs Perforated Filter

Perforated filtration elements are designed for sanitary applications where 3-A certification is required and when larger particles and solids must be captured to prevent damage to downstream equipment. Perforated elements are also ideal when seeking to strain finer particles by incorporating filter media or mesh overlays.

Long story short, don't go it alone! Contact our filtration experts for assistance with your application. We are happy to assist your businesses.

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