SOLUPOR® Membranes
SOLUPOR® membranes are highly porous with high gas, air and liquid permeability. Combined with a controlled pore size this makes SOLUPOR® suitable for a range of filtration applications. Made from Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, using a unique patented proprietary manufacturing technology.
Different than for most other porous membranes, SOLUPOR® has a unique pore structure, being highly tortuous, with the membrane itself having a fibrilar structure somewhat similar to nonwovens. This makes these membranes very suitable for many applications in liquid (e.g. photopolymer) and gas filtration.
The performance of our filter membranes rely on a combination of collection mechanisms to remove particles of different sizes. The filtration efficiency of Solupor is much higher than would be expected on the basis of measure mean flow pore size ratings (MFP). All SOLUPOR® with MFP <2 microns show a filtration efficiency for aerosol particles (0.1-0.2 microns) of >99.9% according to US Military standard test method 209E. SOLUPOR® has a hydrophobic nature with excellent wetting properties; these films can however also be treated to make them hydrophillic as is needed in filtration of e.g. waste and/or process water.
SOLUPOR®'s good mechanical properties combined with its high porosity and smooth surface makes it an ideal substrate for composite membranes. The separation efficiency and effectiveness of SOLUPOR® coated with a thin functional layer can approximate theoretical values.
Attributes
- Porosity: The Solupor membranes are highly porous, over 90% in certain grades. This results in high permeability (and low resistance to flow) in air and liquid filitration.
- Inert: UPE is stable under exposure to gamma radiation used for sterilization and has excellent resistance to most chemicals (including solvents).
- High strength and durability
- Excellent Abrasion and impact resistance
- Biocompatibility: UPE meets the requirements of USP Class VI and is a material used for human implants. Solupor has its own Drug Master File on registration with the FDA, and is used in Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems (TDDS).
- Environmentally Friendly: The membrane contains no fluoropolymers, and is more easily disposed and incinerated when compared to other conventional membranes.
Lydall Filtration has an ongoing effort to further optimise and improve our products. Please contact us for more information and to discuss your requirements.
Typical Properties
Grade |
Total Weight per Surface Area |
Thickness |
Porosity |
Air Permeability, Gurley Number |
Mean Flow Pore Size |
g/m2 |
μm |
% |
s/50 ml |
μm |
3P07A |
3.0 |
20 |
83 |
1.4 |
0.7 |
5P09A |
5 |
40 |
86 |
2 |
1.1 |
7P03A |
7 |
50 |
85 |
10 |
0.3 |
7P07C |
7 |
45 |
84 |
3 |
0.7 |
10P05A |
10 |
60 |
83 |
3 |
0.5 |
14P01E |
14.5 |
25 |
40 |
240 |
0.1 |
16P05A |
16 |
115 |
85 |
5 |
0.5 |
16P10A |
16 |
120 |
85 |
4 |
0.9 |
E075-9H01A |
9 |
35 |
74 |
800 |
0.1 |
With proprietary gel technology process a wide range of film properties can be covered. We are able to adjust, for example, pore size characteristics, thickness and air permeability’s to your requirements. Typical ranges are summarized in underneath tables for high and low porosity product ranges.
Parameter |
Units |
Low Porosity Range
Typical Range |
High Porosity Range
Typical Range
|
| Porosity |
(vol.%) |
40 – 55 |
75 – 90 |
| Thickness |
(μm) |
8 – 35 |
10-120 |
| Basis Weight |
(g/m²) |
4 – 20 |
3 – 20 |
| Permeability (Gurley number) |
(s/50 ml) |
20 – 200 |
1 – 100 |
| Pore size (mean flow) |
(μm) |
< 0.1 |
0.05 – 1.0 |
| Tensile Strength: @ MD and TD direction |
(MPa) |
50 – 140 |
10 – 50 |
| Elongation at break:@ Machine direction |
(%) |
- |
10 – 45 |
| Dimensional changes @ 80°C |
(%) |
< 2 |
< 2 |
| Puncture resistance |
(g) |
200 – 500 |
- |
| Vapor transmision rate |
(g/m²/24h) |
- |
Up to 15,000 |
Solupor® Membrane Media MSDS
Waterproof versus Hydrophilic
Standard grades have >500 cm water column. On the other hand, the hydrophilic grades show a high water absorption capacity.
Solupor is ideally suited for numerous other applications such as:
- Trans dermal drug delivery
- Excellent peel strength
- Controlled thickness
- Controlled permeability
- Biocompatible
- Medically approved (FDA drug master file, USP Class VI and ISO 10993-1 tests)
- Supercapacitors
- Utilized as a separator
- Thiner media increases capacitance
- Reduced cell ESR
- Batteries
- Low Gurley number enhances transport of Li ions
- High puncture resistance and strength
- High permeability and wettability results in lower ionic resistance
- Ultra thin means reduced battery size
- Fuel Cells
- Ideal for use as a substrate or carrier for functional materials
- Ultra thin with exceptional mechanical strength
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