Filters may not be something that most people give thought to, but it turns out that they are some of the handiest devices on the planet. Yet industrial filtration is an entirely different category. Although it may be made from similar materials as the filters found in a furnace or air conditioner, these compressed air filters and recyclable filtration systems are used for far more than heating and cooling.
Which industries benefit from industrial filtration the most? Here are three such industries you may not have known to rely on filter technology:
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1. Agriculture: The nation’s farms actually use filters for a number of different reasons. Most notably, they will use them to cover plants and protect them from frost. However, filtration can also serve as an effective weed barrier — a safe alternative to herbicides. In addition to providing filtration for plants, these industrial filters may also be used to recycle and filter water — similarly to how they are used at water treatment plants.
2. Food and Beverage: The nation’s food and beverage makers also rely on filtration for a number of reasons. One is to keep machines running efficiently. Coolant filtration systems keep machinery in plants from overheating. These food and beverage companies also use filters to keep dust, flour, and other substances out of their products on the factor room floor.
3. Medicine: Finally, hospitals have a number of industrial filtration needs. From using air intake filters to keep hospital air clean to using filtering products in the pharmaceutical industry, there are a number of reasons that these medical facilities rely on filters. Even doctors and patients can benefit from air filters designed to provide them with clean air to breathe.
The filtration industry is expected to continue growing over the next few years. Right now, it’s worth about $12.4 billion in the United States, and by 2018, that value is expected to increase 3.6% to $14.8 billion.
What surprises you the most about the use of filters in the United States? Tell us in the comments section.
