All kinds of manufacturers of filters can now look forward to a new generation of adhesives from Henkel, developed to facilitate the efficient production of high-performance end products. Appearing at FILTECH 2013 in Wiesbaden, Germany, from October 22 to 24, Henkel – the world’s leading supplier of adhesives, sealants and surface treatment technologies – is now set to present these innovative products to the filter industry.

High-performance adhesives are indispensable to the manufacture of industrial filters. They perform important assembly tasks such as the stabilization and end-bonding of folded filter media or the attachment of filter media to frame components.

The adhesives used must meet high quality requirements, given that they are exposed to a wide range of in-service stresses – such as heat, pressure and chemical attack. Added to this are the demands of manufacturing efficiency: Filters are invariably produced in large batch quantities, with the demand for short cycle times in adhesive application, coupled with a need to minimize product consumption. Henkel’s adhesives come with all the necessary application-related certificates, such as potable water approval, ISO 10993 and automotive industry approvals.

Technomelt AS 4216

The new Henkel-developed polypropylene hotmelt Technomelt AS 4216 offers numerous advantages related to the above requirements. A filter bonded with this readily foamable hotmelt can durably withstand service temperatures of up to 120 degrees Celsius. Moreover, this innovative adhesive is odorless, optically neutral by virtue of its white colour, flexible and with a relatively long pot time, easy and economical to apply.

Technomelt AS 4216 is ideal for the production of pollen or air filters destined for the automotive sector, as well as being suitable for the manufacture of clean room filters.

Adhesives for potable water filters

Further innovations aligned to the filter industry include the two new Henkel developments, Loctite UK 178 and Loctite EA 1623986, both of which carry approval for use in potable water filters. While Loctite UK 178 is used in the bonding of the filter membranes, Loctite EA 1623986 is applied in the manufacture of filter housings. These consist of wound and bonded glass yarn.

Their areas of application include, for example, large seawater desalination plants, where the brine resistance of the adhesives makes them ideal for the reverse osmosis process. They are also particularly durable – an important criterion when it comes to building large and expensive seawater desalination facilities.

The two adhesives are similarly compatible with plant cleaning systems that use sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) or sodium hypochlorite. They can be employed at temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius and satisfy both the German potable water standard and that of the USA, NSF 61.

A further innovation being showcased is Loctite EA 3316. This product can actually be used at temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius and can therefore also be applied in the manufacture of filters used in the dairy industry where the cleaning processes take place at higher temperatures.

Reduced volume usage combined with high bonding strengths

The guiding principle for the adhesive developers at Henkel is to aim at minimizing adhesive volume usage in achievement of the required bonding strength values. The various types and uses of filter systems – from automotive and HVAC applications, through to medical and water purification technology, likewise make widely differing demands on the adhesives employed.