Effect of Surface Roughness of Filter Media on Filtration Flux

A new filtration system using a ceramic tube filter with an internal spiral guide rod was developed. In this paper, to investigate the effect of the surface roughness of the filter media on the filtration flux, waste water with ink as sample slurry was filtered by various filters with different surface roughnesses. The decrease ratio of filtration flux was shown to have a close relation to the surface roughness of the filter, which was characterized by image analysis. The filter media with a smooth surface was found to be most suitable for this system because such a filter can prevent a disturbed flow field in the filter, which helps in preventing fouling and maintaining a constant filtration flux for a long time.