Filter Press Plate with Soft Frame for Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Filter presses face challenges in meeting high purity and GMP standards for cleaning and sterilization, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, due to issues with liquid leakage and contamination during the cleaning process, especially when using reusable filter cloths.
Innovation Solution
A plate design for filter presses featuring a base body made of a hard material and a flexible frame with a sealing protrusion, where the frame is softer than the base body, allowing for optimal sealing and easy cleaning, with a method involving compressing the plates in stages to facilitate CIP procedures and prevent contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If filter cloths extend as far as the margin of the filter and membrane plates and are pressed against each other to hold them, then the filter cloths can be secured without additional sealing elements, but liquid may drip out from the margin area
Solution Approach 1:
The plate is divided into two distinct materials: a hard base body material and a softer frame material. This segmentation allows each material to perform its specific function - the hard base body provides structural support while the softer frame material provides sealing capability to prevent liquid leakage at the margins.
Solution Approach 2:
The plate uses a composite structure combining two different materials with different hardness properties. The base body is made of a hard material while the frame is made of a softer material, creating a composite plate that simultaneously achieves structural integrity and effective sealing to prevent liquid leakage.
2Ease of operation
If the filter press is opened for cleaning and filter cakes are extracted, then the filter press can be cleaned, but the interior may be contaminated with dirt particles
Solution Approach 1:
The manual cleaning process involving opening the filter press and physically removing filter cakes is replaced by an automated CIP (Cleaning in Place) system. Cleaning media are pumped through the filter press via nozzles and channels, mechanically flushing out contaminants without requiring the press to be opened, thus preventing contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter press is designed with integrated cleaning channels and nozzles that allow it to clean itself automatically. The CIP system enables the filter press to perform its own cleaning by circulating cleaning media through its internal channels, eliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing contamination risk.
3Productivity
If filter beds are used instead of filter cloths, then filtration can be performed, but the filter beds must be disposed of and replaced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of discarding disposable filter beds after use, the system recovers and reuses reusable filter cloths. The CIP cleaning system enables these filter cloths to be cleaned and sterilized in place, allowing them to be reused multiple times without being discarded, thus preventing loss of the filter medium.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If additional sealing elements are provided to prevent liquid leakage, then sealing is improved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The frame material serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support as part of the plate assembly and acts as the sealing element to prevent liquid leakage. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate sealing elements, reducing structural complexity while maintaining effective sealing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design ensures effective sealing and easy cleaning, preventing liquid leakage and contamination, while maintaining high purity standards, allowing for the reuse of filter cloths and meeting the stringent requirements of the pharmaceutical industry.
Implementation Method 1
a frame (100) arranged on an outer circumferential surface (11) of the base body (10), consisting of a second material with a hardness H2, where H2<H1
Data Source
AI summary
A plate for a filter press, a filter press, the use of such a filter press as well as a method of cleaning and sterilization of such a filter press. The plate for a filter press has a base body, consisting of a first material with a hardness H1 and having an outer circumferential surface, and a frame arranged on the outer circumferential surface, consisting of a second material with a hardness H2, where H2<H1, and wherein the frame has on at least one side surface at least one encircling seal protruding relative to the side surface.