In the field of membrane processes, a distinction is made between various techniques with characteristic degrees of fineness of the filters. Starting with the coarsest degree of fineness, these are:

• Microfiltration  
• Ultrafiltration  
• Nanofiltration  
• Reverse osmosis

While ultrafiltration focuses on reducing microbial loads, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis also ensure water desalination. Nanofiltration has a lower working pressure than a reverse osmosis solution and is used when you want partial desalination or partial softening. It is a common process in drinking water treatment and process water treatment.

Reverse osmosis systems, also called UO systems or RO systems (reverse osmosis, reverse osmosis), remove salts and organic matter almost completely. The natural process of osmosis (the effort of equalizing the concentration of two liquids separated by a selective permeable membrane) is reversed with the help of pressure. Reverse osmosis systems are used, for example, in laboratories, hospitals and in medical technology or in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries.

Today, ion exchange resins, artificial polymers, are used which, depending on the application, can perform full desalination (also deionization, demineralization, production of deionized water) or partial desalination. Probably the best known and longest industrially applied example of targeted mass transfer is water softening, which is also used in the private sector. In order to obtain "soft" water and to reduce the formation of limestone, the hardness minerals calcium and magnesium are replaced by sodium ions from the ion exchanger. The calcium and magnesium hydrogen carbonates are finally present as sodium hydrogen carbonate. 

Other applications, for example in electroplating, include the removal and recovery of heavy metals or nitrate removal.

Possible applications of activated carbon filters (excerpt):

• Wastewater
• Landfill leachate
• Boiler feed water
• Drinking water
• Groundwater
• Well water
• Industrial wastewater
• Gas purification
• Odor removal
• Landfill / biogas
• Decolorization e.g. of foodstuffs
• Taste improvement
• Selective filtration e.g. in the chemical industry

The material activated carbon has an enormously high porosity. The internal surface area is in the range of 600 to 1,600 m2/g and thus enables the adsorption of many substances and materials from gases and liquids.

Carbonaceous raw materials such as wood, lignite, hard coal, fruit pits such as olive pits, coconut shells, etc. are used as raw materials for the production of activated carbons. Depending on the type of activation and the form (granules, powder, etc.), the activated carbons have different properties. We take advantage of this and adapt our plants to your needs.

Industrial wastewater contains a wide variety of pollutants and contaminants. Our splitting plants reliably clean industrial wastewater using simple and robust technology. The areas of application are wide - almost all processing industries require water or have to treat wastewater. Wastewater recycling is also gaining in importance due to increasing cost pressure.

For us in Central Europe, clean water is a matter of course. However, we should be aware that the amount of usable fresh water is also limited in our country (sinking groundwater levels, drought monitor of the UFZ) and that our access can be abruptly denied by technical failures or environmental events. In such cases, mobile drinking water treatment plants are usually used by disaster control organizations such as the fire department, the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief, the German Federal Armed Forces or other relief organizations. We will be pleased to advise you.