New Product Launch | Unlocking Glass Fiber Clarification Filtration

In complex liquid purification processes, insoluble particles, precipitates and other impurities present in feed liquids can directly affect analytical accuracy, formulation homogeneity, and final appearance. Clarification filtration is the key step in addressing this challenge. A high-efficiency clarification filter not only effectively removes excess particles, colloids, and precipitates, but also acts as a critical barrier to protect high-value downstream sterilizing filters, extend their service life, and reduce replacement frequency. In doing so, it systematically lowers filtration costs and enhances overall process efficiency. Glass-fiber liquid clarification filters are therefore an essential pretreatment step in complex liquid purification processes.

Typical Characteristics of Clarification Filters

Clarification filters generally employ media with large pore sizes and broad pore-size distributions to increase particle-capture capacity. Glass fiber as a filter medium offers significant advantages: a fixed pore structure with no risk of media migration, high particle-removal efficiency, and strong dirt-holding capacity. It is particularly suitable for clarification in bioprocess applications, such as serum, blood products, fermentation broth, cell-culture fluids, and high-viscosity solutions.

Why Choose the GlasiCARE Filter

Feature-Tec’s GlasiCARE filter provides complete control from media to finished product—from customized selection of the core glass-fiber filtration medium to in-house manufacturing of the filter elements. This approach secures supply-chain stability and safety from the source, while comprehensive, high-standard quality management throughout the entire process ensures high product consistency.

Typical Applications

• Clarification of serum and blood products

• Clarification of fermentation broth and cell-culture fluids

• Clarification of high-viscosity solutions

Regulatory Compliance

• Component materials meet the definition of “non-fiber-releasing filters” per 21 CFR 210.3(b)(6)

• Endotoxin level of cartridge rinse solution tested by gel-clot method is < 0.25 EU/mL, compliant with USP ⟨85⟩

• Filter construction materials comply with USP ⟨88⟩ Class VI requirements for plastic biocompatibility

• Material composition meets the reactivity test standards of USP ⟨88⟩ Class VI plastics

Flow Characteristics

Within the product category of 1.2 μm glass-fiber liquid clarification filters, Feature-Tec’s GlasiCARE demonstrates a “low resistance, high efficiency” profile. Comparative testing shows that—under equivalent filtration ratings—GlasiCARE exhibits lower operating differential pressure at equal flux and higher flux at equal differential pressure. This means that, under comparable operating conditions, the GlasiCARE filter can increase throughput per unit time and extend effective filter life, thereby reducing comprehensive operating and maintenance costs.
Flow-performance characteristics of the GlasiCARE glass-fiber clarification filter are illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Flow characteristics of 1.2 μm glass-fiber liquid clarification filters

Application Case Study

Clarification of an oral liquid

Polypropylene filters are widely used in liquid clarification due to their broad applicability; however, they can be limited by restricted dirt-holding capacity and susceptibility to blockage. By contrast, glass-fiber filters possess a three-dimensional gradient structure, offering higher contaminant-loading capability. This results in longer service life and lower replacement frequency in critical clarification processes with stringent turbidity requirements, effectively reducing overall filtration cost.

In this study, a certain oral liquid concentrate was clarified using glass-fiber and polypropylene media under constant-flow testing. Test endpoints were: differential pressure ≥ 1.2 bar or mixed filtrate turbidity ≥ 13 NTU. The feed information and test results are summarized below.

Table 1 Feed Information and Test Results

The results demonstrate that, at the same filtration rating, glass-fiber media exhibit significantly higher dirt-holding capacity than polypropylene media. In clarification steps with strict filtrate turbidity requirements, glass-fiber filters deliver superior performance in both turbidity control and endpoint capacity.

Key Advantages

• High dirt-holding capacity: graded porosity with high particle-retention efficiency

• Low differential pressure: extended service life

• High-standard quality control: manufacturing facilities certified to ISO 9001; production operated in accordance with GMP requirements

• Comprehensive documentation package: validation guides, certificates of quality assurance, and more

Reference

Critical Process Filtration. Improving Upstream Prefiltration & Converting Sterilizing Filters in New Process Design [R]. 2025.