Why are surface filters better than tortuous ones?
Surface filters have very small sieve type pores. The tortuous membrane pore channel relies on capturing particles within as well as on the membrane surface leading to long-term plugging of the membrane. By keeping the deposit on the surface of our filters we can ensure its complete removal by the high shear produced. A more detailed description with illustration is here. Other surface filters do exist, e.g. track etched polycarbonate, but in all cases the other surface filters are fragile, prone to greater blockage than ours (they don’t use a long thin slot) and are much more expensive.
