How does an ultrafilter for drinking water treatment work?

Ultrafiltration (UF) is a physical separation process used to purify or separate substances in liquids. It is based on membrane filtration, in which a semipermeable membrane with a specific pore size retains dissolved and suspended particles from a liquid.

Filtration occurs through micropores (average pore size 20.1 nm – sterile filtration) in 0.3–0.5 mm wide hollow fibers. These hollow fibers are bundled in hundreds and wound into cartridges.

The very small micropores allow only clean water to penetrate the hollow fiber. Bacteria, viruses, and other solid particles from the raw water are trapped on the outside of the hollow fiber. The resulting drinking water is free of pathogens, colorless and odorless, and has a neutral taste.

Advantages of an ultrafilter:

✅ Removes bacteria and viruses without chemical additives.
✅ No change in the water composition (e.g. minerals are retained).
✅ More energy efficient than other membrane separation processes such as reverse osmosis.

How C-MEM drinking water treatment works

C-MEM™ technology uses micropores (average pore size 20.1 nm – sterile filtration) made of drinking water-grade HDPE in 0.3-0.5 mm wide hollow fibers to remove contaminants from the water. These hollow fibers, wound in bundles in cartridges, allow only clean water to penetrate. Bacteria, viruses, and other solid particles are trapped on the outside of the fibers. This produces drinking water that is free of pathogens and has a neutral taste. C-MEM™ technology replaces conventional technology in a single step, achieving far better effluent values.

The filter can be easily cleaned by backwashing without chemicals. Annual cleaning with food-grade, fully biodegradable citric acid is recommended, followed, if necessary, by a highly diluted 1% sodium hypochlorite solution.