Search

US-20260124565-A1 - FILTER MEDIA AND LIQUID FILTERS

US20260124565A1US 20260124565 A1US20260124565 A1US 20260124565A1US-20260124565-A1

Abstract

Filter media and liquid filters are described herein. A filter media comprises a first layer, a second layer disposed adjacent the first layer, and a third layer disposed adjacent the second layer such that the second layer is interposed between the first layer and the second layer. The first layer comprises melt blown fibers, the second layer comprises microglass fibers and the third layer comprises spunbond fibers. The filter media has a relatively high filter life and a filtration efficiency of greater than or equal to about 95% without a substantial increase in pressure over time. The filter media may be particularly useful in separating a discontinuous liquid phase, such as water, from a continuous liquid phase of the solution, such as a hydrocarbon, in fuel tank storage, fuel transportation and/or oil purification applications.

Inventors

  • Ashish Bandekar
  • John Cox
  • Andrew G. PLATT

Assignees

  • DELSTAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251104

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A filter media, comprising: a first layer comprising melt blown polymer fibers; a second layer comprising microglass fibers; a third layer comprising spunbond polymer fibers; and wherein the first layer is disposed adjacent a first surface of the second layer and the third layer is disposed adjacent a second opposing surface of the second layer.
  2. 2 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the filter has a filtration efficiency of greater than or equal to about 95% according to reference test ISO 16332 of the International Organization for Standards.
  3. 3 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the melt blown polymer fibers comprise a polyamide.
  4. 4 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the spunbond polymer fibers comprise nylon.
  5. 5 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the first layer has a thickness of from about 5 mils to about 15 mils.
  6. 6 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the first layer has a basis weight of from about 10 gsm to about 50 gsm.
  7. 7 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the first layer has a mean flow pore size of from about 10 µm to about 30 µm.
  8. 8 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the microglass fibers comprise a combination of coarse microglass fibers and fine microglass fibers.
  9. 9 . The filter media of claim 8 , wherein the fine microglass fibers have an average diameter of from about 0.2 µm to about 0.6 µm and the coarse microglass fibers have an average diameter of from greater than 0.6 µm to about 10 µm.
  10. 10 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the microglass fibers comprise about 10% to about 15% alkali.
  11. 11 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the second layer has a thickness of from about 5 mils to about 15 mils.
  12. 12 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the second layer has a basis weight of from about 30 gsm to about 80 gsm.
  13. 13 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the third layer has a basis weight of from about 5 gsm to about 35 gsm.
  14. 14 . The filter media of claim 1 , wherein the filter is configured to separate a discontinuous liquid phase of a solution from a continuous liquid phase of the solution.
  15. 15 . A liquid filter media comprising: one or more layers configured to separate a discontinuous liquid phase of a solution from a continuous liquid phase of the solution; and wherein the filter has a filtration efficiency of greater than or equal to about 95% according to reference test ISO 16332 of the International Organization for Standards; and wherein the filter has a pressure increase of less than about 10%.
  16. 16 . The filter media of claim 15 , wherein the pressure increase is less than about 1%.
  17. 17 . The filter media of claim 15 , wherein the one or more layers comprises: a first layer comprising melt blown fibers, a second layer disposed adjacent the first layer and comprising microglass fibers; and a third layer disposed adjacent the second layer such that the second layer is interposed between the first layer and the second layer, the third layer comprising spunbond fibers.
  18. 18 . The filter media of claim 17 , wherein the microglass fibers comprise a combination of coarse microglass fibers and fine microglass fibers.
  19. 19 . The filter media of claim 18 , wherein the fine microglass fibers have an average diameter of from about 0.2 µm to about 0.6 µm and the coarse microglass fibers have an average diameter of from greater than 0.6 µm to about 10 µm.
  20. 20 . The filter media of claim 17 , wherein the microglass fibers comprise about 10% to about 15% alkali.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63/717,795, filed November 7, 2024, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD The following description generally relates to filter media for liquid filters and more particularly, to filter media configured to separate a discontinuous liquid phase from a continuous liquid phase. BACKGROUND Conventional filters may often include or incorporate coalescers or coalescing media to separate an immiscible liquid, or “discontinuous phase”, suspended, dispersed, or otherwise disposed in another liquid, or “continuous phase”, from one another. For example, conventional filters may often include the coalescer to remove or separate water or moisture (i.e., the discontinuous phase) from petroleum based fuels (i.e., the continuous phase) to improve the operation of and/or to prevent damage to downstream systems and processes. Generally, the coalescers are capable of capturing small droplets of the discontinuous or dispersed phase from the continuous phase, coalescing the small droplets into relatively larger droplets, and separating the coalesced discontinuous phase from the continuous phase via gravitational forces. While conventional coalescers are generally effective for separating the discontinuous phase from the continuous phase, recent trends have been directed to further improve the effectiveness and/or durability of the coalescers to thereby improve the performance and/or lifetime thereof. SUMMARY This following is intended merely to introduce a simplified summary of some aspects of one or more implementations of the subject matter discussed herein. Further areas of applicability of the subject matter will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. This summary is not an extensive overview, nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of the teachings herein, nor to delineate the scope of the subject matter. Rather, its purpose is merely to present one or more concepts in simplified form as a prelude to the detailed description below. Filter media and liquid filters are described herein. The filter media may be particularly useful in separating a discontinuous liquid phase, such as water, from a continuous liquid phase of the solution, such as a hydrocarbon, in fuel tank storage, fuel transportation or oil purification applications. In one aspect, a filter media may include a first layer comprising melt blown polymer fibers, a second layer comprising microglass fibers and a third layer comprising spunbond polymer fibers. The first layer is disposed adjacent a first surface of the second layer and the third layer is disposed adjacent a second opposing surface of the second layer. The filter media has a relatively high filter life and a filtration efficiency of greater than or equal to about 95%, or greater than about 99%, without a substantial increase in pressure over time. In addition, the replacement time between two filters is reduced due to improved performance in relation to pressure, which reduces corrosion, foaming, clogging and other factors that could reduce the effectiveness of the filter. In embodiments, the polymer of the melt blown fibers may be a polyamide. In embodiments, the polyamide of the melt blown fibers may be nylon. In embodiments, the first layer may have a thickness of from about 5 mils to about 15 mils, or about 10 mils. In embodiments, the first layer may have an air permeability of from about 50 ft3/ft2/min to about 150 ft3/ft2/min, or from about 90 ft3/ft2/min to about 110 ft3/ft2/min, or about 100 ft3/ft2/min. In embodiments, the first layer may have a basis weight of from about 10 gsm to about 50 gsm, or about 30 gsm to about 40 gsm, or about 34 gsm. In embodiments, the first layer may have a mean flow pore size of from about 10 µm to about 30 µm, or from about 18 µm to about 22 µm, or about 20 µm. In embodiments, the plurality of microglass fibers of the second layer may include a combination of coarse microglass fibers and fine microglass fibers. In embodiments, the plurality of microglass fibers may be wetlaid microglass fibers. In embodiments, the plurality of microglass fibers may include bicomponent fibers. In embodiments, the second layer may have a thickness of from about 5 mils to about 15 mils, or about 10 mils. In embodiments, the second layer may have an air permeability of from about 10 ft3/ft2/min to about 70 ft3/ft2/min, or from about 40 ft3/ft2/min to about 45 ft3/ft2/min, or about 42 ft3/ft2/min. In embodiments, the second layer may have a basis weight of from about 30 gsm to about 80 gsm, or about 50 gsm to about 60 gsm, or about 54 gsm. In embodiments, the polymer of the plurality of spunbond fibers may be a polyamide. In embodiments, the polyamide of the plurality of spunbond fibers may be nylon. In embodiments, the third layer may have a basis weight