Business, industry and planning guidance

Metal sintered filter guidance sheet


This guidance sheet forms part of a series of guidance sheets on preventing and managing offensive odours, and should be read in conjunction with EPA Victoria’s Odour Guidance for Industry webpage. 

Description

Metal sintered filters are made by powder coating metal at controlled temperatures, creating pockets that trap solid pollutants or particles from the air as it passes through. The base metal material and particle/fibre to be sintered will differ depending on the purpose of the filter. Metal sintered filters are most commonly a custom-made solution, as this will ensure the best result.

Type of control

Physical filtration.

When you would use this?

Mental sintered filters are implemented when you need a tailor-made solution, or where filtration is required to protect downwind equipment from airborne pollutants.

Suitable for: filtration systems that can experience high temperatures, high pressures, or corrosive atmospheres.

Industries that would use this: these filters are most commonly used in chemical production, petrochemical processing, power generation, pharmaceutical/medical industries, and food and beverage industries, however, can have broader applicability.

Details and considerations

Although metal sintered filters can be extremely useful in the right circumstances, there are several considerations to keep in mind when deciding to implement one at your site:

  • As the metal sintered filters are custom made to adjust for pore size, strength, and materials, they can be costly.
  • Metal sintered filters require routine cleaning and maintenance. This is usually done with a high-pressure back pulse of air to dislodge the debris caught in the filter. A good maintenance routine is required for filter cleaning, and ensuring you optimise odorous particle removal.
  • It is important to understand your sites needs when selecting to use a metal sintered filter as different metals and compounds can be treated to create filters with different pore sizes and structures.

The process of sintering produces a solid mass of material, in different forms, constructed of fibres or particles. Air filtration is commonly metal. During production of these filters, carefully controlled pressure and heat is used to ensure the materials do not reach the point of liquification, forming the particles/fibres into a solid mass. This mass of material is the metal sintered filter.

Further information

Also see: carbon filters guidance sheet or metal mesh filters guidance sheet.

Page last updated on 4 Jun 2019