Case Study of Liquid Filtration System Optimization for Ink Manufacturing

Case Study of Liquid Filtration System Optimization for Ink Manufacturing

1. Project Background

A professional water-based and solvent-based ink manufacturer in East China faced persistent product quality defects before renovation. The unfiltered ink liquid contained suspended pigment particles, agglomerated fillers and mechanical impurities, leading to uneven ink fineness, frequent nozzle clogging in customer printing equipment, and low finished product qualification rate. The original simple filtration device had low precision, poor pressure resistance and short service life, failing to meet mass production and high-standard coating requirements. To solve the above problems, the enterprise upgraded the liquid filtration system with stainless steel bag filter vessels and high-precision filter bags, realizing stable purification of ink liquid and standardized production. This case details the system configuration, working conditions, equipment parameters and application effects of the upgraded filtration system.

2. Core Working Condition and Equipment Parameter Specifications

The filtration system is applicable to the fine filtration process of water-based ink and low-viscosity solvent-based ink. The detailed working condition parameters, filter vessel and filter bag specifications are sorted out in the table below, which fully adapts to the continuous production environment of ink manufacturing.

3. Filtration Working Principle

The system adopts pressure-type bag filtration mode. The ink raw liquid is transported to the filter vessel through a pneumatic diaphragm pump, and evenly fills the inner cavity of the vessel. Under stable working pressure, the ink liquid penetrates the 5μm high-precision PP filter bag, while impurity particles such as oversized pigment agglomerates, metal debris and dust are intercepted on the inner wall of the filter bag. The purified ink liquid flows out through the discharge port for subsequent stirring, color matching and filling processes. The 304 stainless steel vessel is equipped with a reinforced inner net, which supports the filter bag to avoid deformation and damage under pressure, ensuring continuous and stable filtration efficiency. The quick-opening swing bolt structure greatly shortens the time for filter bag replacement and equipment maintenance.

4. Operation Effect and Project Benefit

After two months of stable operation, the upgraded filtration system shows excellent performance. The fineness of finished ink is stably controlled below 5μm, and the product qualification rate is increased from 88% to 99.2%. The problem of printing nozzle clogging is completely solved, and customer complaint rate drops to zero. The corrosion-resistant 304 stainless steel vessel adapts to the chemical characteristics of ink media, with no rust or leakage during long-term operation. The standardized 5μm PP filter bag has strong dirt-holding capacity, with a single service cycle of 7–10 working days, reducing frequent replacement costs. In addition, the sealed pressure filtration structure avoids ink liquid volatilization and dust pollution, improving the on-site production environment and meeting environmental protection production standards.

5. Conclusion

This customized liquid filtration solution for ink manufacturing accurately matches the viscosity, temperature and impurity characteristics of ink media through reasonable selection of filter vessel and filter bag parameters. The stable pressure resistance, corrosion resistance and high-precision filtration performance effectively improve ink product quality and production efficiency. The system features simple operation, convenient maintenance and low operating cost, which is highly applicable to the fine filtration link of water-based and conventional solvent-based ink production, and can provide reliable reference for the filtration system upgrading of similar coating and pigment manufacturing enterprises.