ABSTRACT
Compressed air and gases have been widely used as a motive force or substrate in the process, engineering, electronics and manufacturing industries for many years. The required quality for such air and gas varies with application; however, the need for sterile grade air (e.g. particle removal to less than 0·01µm) is perhaps more common than might at first be realised. Classical sterile air and gas users, such as those in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological, health care, food and beverage industries, have always demanded increasing specifications, especially in terms of performance efficiency, system reliability and operational security. It has been possible to achieve these specifications using membrane filtration. This paper aims to show that currently there is no competing technology that can offer these performance specifications and still operate within realistic cost margins.
