Composition for Filtering and Removing Particles and/or Constituents from a Fluid

Abstract

Filter-aid materials are disclosed herein, and processes, systems, and methods using such filter-aid materials for filtering and removing particles and/or constituents from a fluid, wherein the filter-aid material comprises at least one filterable composite adsorbent comprising at least one adsorbent component formed in-situ on at least one filtration component. Further disclosed herein are filter-aid materials and processes, systems, and methods using such filter-aid materials for filtering and removing particles and/or constituents from a fluid, wherein the filter-aid material comprises at least one filterable composite adsorbent comprising at least one adsorbent component formed in-situ on at least one filtration component, and wherein the filter-aid material further comprises an at least one additional filtration component mixed with the at least one filterable composite adsorbent.

1 : A filter-aid material for absorbing particles and/or constituents from a fluid comprising:
 at least one filterable composite adsorbent comprising at least one filtration component and at least one adsorption component formed in-situ on a surface of the at least one filtration component, wherein the at least one adsorbent component comprises less than about 40% by weight of the filter-aid material and the at least one adsorbent component has an average particle size of less than about 1 micrometer.   
     
     
         2 - 3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one filtration component is chosen from biogenic silicas, natural glasses, buoyant glasses, buoyant polymers, cellulose, silicates, alumina, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         5 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one filtration component is diatomite. 
     
     
         6 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one filtration component is perlite. 
     
     
         7 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one adsorbent component is a silica gel. 
     
     
         8 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one adsorbent component comprises at least about 5% by weight of the filterable composite adsorbent. 
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one adsorbent component comprises at least about 10% by weight of the filterable composite adsorbent. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the average particle size of the adsorbent component is less than about 0.5 microns. 
     
     
         13 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the average particle size of the adsorbent component is less than about 0.1 microns. 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the BET surface area of the at least one adsorbent component ranges from about 25 to about 2550 m 2 /g. 
     
     
         16 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 15 , wherein the BET surface area of the at least one adsorbent component ranges from about 50 to about 500 m 2 /g. 
     
     
         17 - 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , wherein the average permeability of the filtration adsorbent composite ranges from about 0.05 to about 10 Darcy. 
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 1 , having a wet density ranging from about 10 to about 25 lb/ft 3 . 
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 : A filter-aid material for absorbing particles and/or constituents from a fluid comprising:
 at least one filterable composite adsorbent comprising at least one filtration component and at least one adsorption component formed in-situ on a surface of the at least one filtration component, wherein the at least one adsorbent component has an average particle size of less than about 1 micrometer; and   an at least one additional filtration component mixed with the at least one filterable composite adsorbent, wherein the at least one adsorbent component comprises less than about 40% by weight of the filter-aid material.   
     
     
         25 - 27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 24 , wherein the at least one filtration component is diatomite. 
     
     
         29 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 24 , wherein the at least one filtration component is perlite. 
     
     
         30 : The filter-aid material according to  claim 24 , wherein the at least one adsorbent component is a silica gel. 
     
     
         31 - 63 . (canceled) 
     
     
         64 : A method for removing particles and/or constituents in a fluid, comprising:
 (i) providing a filter-aid material comprising an at least one filterable composite adsorbent comprising at least one filtration component; and at least one adsorption component formed in-situ on the surface of the at least one filtration component; wherein the at least one adsorbent component comprises less than about 40% by weight of the filter-aid material and the at least one adsorbent component has an average particle size of less than about 1 micrometer;   (ii) pre-coating a filter element with the filterable composite adsorbent; and   (iii) passing a fluid containing particles and/or constituents to be adsorbed through the coated filter element.   
     
     
         65 - 73 . (canceled) 
     
     
         74 : The method according to  claim 64 , wherein the at least one filtration component is chosen from biogenic silicas, natural glasses, buoyant glasses, buoyant polymers, cellulose, silicates, aluminas, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         75 : The method according to  claim 64 , wherein the at least one adsorbent component is a silica gel. 
     
     
         76 - 89 . (canceled) 
     
     
         90 : A method for removing particles and/or constituents from a fluid, comprising:
 precoating a filter element with the filter-aid material of  claim 1 ; and   passing a fluid containing particles and/or constituents to be removed through the precoated filter element.