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t the Filtech 2016 exhibitionand conference held in Colo-gne, Germany, from October 11-

13, had 355 exhibitors and around12,000 oparticipants over 3 days.

Filtech 2016 clearly exceeded allexpectations and set a strong signal forfurther growth of the world-widefiltration and separatioon sector. Asubstantial increase was also registeredin the number of trade visitors fromItaly, Poland, France, Turkey, China,Japan, Korea and India. At Filtech 2016more than 57% of the trade visitorscame from outside Germany. Expertscame from 76 nations, 35% of allinternational guests came from overseascountries making it an multiculturalexperience and a unique platform forexhibitors to generate new businesses.

Some of the many developments in anutshell were :

Nanofibres, for example, are all about

creating much more surface over a givenarea, but in filter industry terms, it's sothat many more holes can beaccommodated, to trap more and eversmaller particles. The addition of

nanofibre layers was a key themeat Filtech 2016, as evidenced bythe latest products fromnonwovens companies such asAhlstrom, Donaldson, Hollings-

worth and Vose, JX Nippon, Mannand Hummel, Neenah, Nxtgen,Porex etc.

Similarly, pleating is againabout creating more surfacespace over a given area, in whichto make more and increasinglysmaller holes. An interestingproduct here is the the Solaft

AStarBag promoted by Italy's Testori,which can considerably reduce costsand solve bag house capacity problems.The filter's pleated design doubles theavailable filter area in the same space asa traditional cylindrical or oval bag. Thepleats are gathered at the top snap bandso that the filter can fit in the same cellplate hole as a standard bag andhorizontal bands sewn into the needlefelt,in combination with the frame, ensure itretains its pleats for its entire service life.

The pleating machinery business isbecoming very competitive. Joining

established players in this technologyfield such as Swiss-headquartered JCEMand India's A2Z in Cologne this year,was Roth Composite Machinery,headquartered in Steffenberg, Germany,

formed from the merger of two well-known companies, EHA andSchlesinger. As part of RothIndustries with 1,100 employees, thisnew company can draw on the know-how and expertise from other businessareas in filament winding and prepregequipment for composites, as well asproduction machines for brushes and

Filtech 2016 with more than 355 exhibitors and12,000 participants over 3 days clearly exceededall expectations and set a strong signal for furthergrowth.

Filtech 2016Strong signals forfurther growth

International participation at Filtech 2016

Asian Textile Journal November 2016 60

FILTECH 2016

GeoDict is a modular packagedeveloped for the simulation of

filtration processes.

brooms, and involves 30 in-housedesign engineers in its projects.

Haver and Boecker, based in Oelde,Germany, is a manufacturer of wovenwire fabrics and has developed a way ofgetting twice the number of pores into asquare metre than is available fromtraditional weaves. The company hasnow adapted its in-house traditionalweaving looms in order to do this atindustrial production scale.

Haver and Boecker's vice-presidentof sales, Friedrich Edelmeier, explainedthat the company's RPD Hiflo-S wovenmesh material can achieve twice thethroughput volume flow for a given poresize than traditionally woven materials,as a result of its 3D structure. 'We havebeen able to optimise a 3D structure byseparating the weft wires from oneanother so that the number of pores isdoubled over a given surface area, butthe pore size remains the same,' he said.

The company developed thistechnique with the assistance of theMath2Market GeoDict simulationsystem.

'The traditional way of designing andtesting filter prototypes is costly and timeconsuming,' said Andreas Wiegman, CEOof Math2Market, which is based inKaiserslauten, Germany. 'This is due tothe complex interplay of the materialproperties of the filter media, thearrangement of fibres in the medium, the

filter media are not the only answer to anefficient filtration plant, he explained,talking specifically about the process ofgas cleaning with pulse-jet filters.

Unwanted holes are just as critical,it seems, as those specifically engineeredinto filter fabrics.

'PTFE-coated membranes are verysensitive and prone to leakage, but itis not just in the fabrics,' Professor

Kasper explained. 'Leaks from filterbags are transient, but those fromelsewhere are continuous. In a well-maintained unit, fifty per cent of leaksare down to the hardware of filtersystems - the gaskets and welds andseams - and in old plants much morethan that. It is where the majority ofleaks are coming from.'

This year, the conference comprised174 papers presented by speakers

coming from 23 countries and attractedaround 40 new companies to swellexhibitors to a new record of 355.

The next Filtech 2018 will be held inMarch 13-15, 2018 and expected to havemore than 400 exhibitors, and withinnovative and industry-specificInternational Conference. For moredetails, www.filtech.de

physical and chemical properties of thefluid being filtered and the characteristicsof the particles in the fluid. GeoDict is amodular package developed for thesimulation of filtration processes and itsmodules help gain insights into the

behaviour of existing filters, and beyondthat, to develop new filter media.'

That may sound like a little more thanjust considering holes, but even keynotespeaker Professor Gerhard Kasper, of theKarlsruhe Institute of Technologydelivered a highly technical speech thatin essence boiled down to eithermaximizing them, or sealing them. Better