Membranes Filters: MCE, Cellulose Acetate, PES, and PTFE
Filter membranes can be divided into different types, based on their materials, Nylon, PTFE, PTFE-L, MCE, PES, CA, PVDF, PP, etc. Today, HAWACH will mainly talk about four membrane filters, MCE, Cellulose Acetate, PES, and PTFE.
Filter membranes are used in various industries such as food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, municipal engineering water treatment, industrial high-purity water, boiler water replenishment, seawater desalination, and ultrapure water in the electronics industry, wastewater treatment and reuse, material concentration, and purification. Because of membrane filter principle, different materials’ membrane filter have different feature as follow.
| Item | MCE | CA | PES | PTFE |
| Scanning electron |  |  |  |  |
| Protein binding | Low | Very low | Very low | Not applicable |
| DNA binding | Low | Very low | Very low | Not applicable |
| Chemical resistance | Very high | Low | Low | Very high |
1. MCE – mixed cellulose ester (Aqueous Membrane)
Features of MCE membrane filter:
Relatively uniform pore size, high porosity, no medium shedding, thin texture, low resistance, fast filtration rate, very small adsorption, low cost, and use cost, but intolerant to the organic solution and strong acid and alkali solution.
Uses of MCE membrane filter:
The pharmaceutical industry requires hot-pressed sterilized water injections to filter out particles from large infusions. For the sterilization of heat-sensitive drugs (insulin ATP, coenzyme A, and other biochemical preparations), the particles and oil insoluble in the 0.45-micron filter (or 0.2) solution are analyzed and measured, and the water pollution index is determined.
MCE membrane filter is used in scientific research departments such as somatic cell hybridization and mitochondrial complementation prediction heterosis research.
2. Cellulose Acetate – reinforced cellulose (aqueous membrane)
Features of the cellulose acetate membrane filter:
Without any adhesive, stable chemical performance, flexibility, not easy to break; high-temperature resistance, can withstand high-pressure sterilization; non-toxic and tasteless, acid, and alkali resistant.
Uses of the cellulose acetate membrane filter:
Suitable for making various coarse and fine filters and folding filter elements; suitable for filter membrane of plate and frame filter press in beverage, medicine, and other industries; suitable for the support and pretreatment of reverse osmosis membrane and ultrafiltration membrane.
Cellulose acetate membrane filter is non-toxic and can be widely used in medicine, the chemical industry, food, beverage, and other fields; it is hydrophobic, and it is particularly good for air filtration.
3. PES – polyethersulfone (aqueous membrane)
Features of PES membrane:
Microporous membrane made of ether sulfone, which is a hydrophilic membrane, has a high flow rate, low dissolution, good strength, does not adsorb protein and extracts, with no pollution to samples. The ability of PES to bind protein and extractable content is very low. The flow rate of the PES membrane is also higher than that of cellulose or nylon membrane. The filter membrane is strongly recommended for filtering cell culture media. It has the characteristics of strict pore size distribution, high flow rate, flux, low protein adsorption, and high strength. PES membrane vs Cellulose Acetate, PES membrane has lower protein binding than the CA membrane.
Uses of PES membrane:
Low protein adsorption and high drug compatibility, specially designed for biochemical, inspection, pharmaceutical, and sterilization filtration devices. It is hydrophilic and is often used for biological sample filtration.
4. PTFE – polytetrafluoroethylene (hydrophobic)
Features of PTFE membrane filters:
PTFE membrane filter made of food-grade isotactic polypropylene as raw material, with no additives in the process; stable physical and chemical properties. With the most extensive chemical compatibility, which can withstand strong solvents such as DMSO, THF, DMF, dichloromethane, chloroform, etc.
Uses of PTFE membrane filters:
Filtration of all organic solutions, especially strong solvents that other filter membranes cannot tolerate.
Click here to know Introduction of Hawach Microporous Membrane Products, Hawach To Talk About The Applications And Differences Filter Membrane
