Filson: Premier CNG Filter Choice for Your Application

In order to use a CNG filter, you need to understand how the CNG filter works.

Here is a step by step process on how the CNG filter works.

1) Movement of CNG Gas

First, the air moves from the CNG gas chamber on its way to the combustion chamber.

On its way to the combustion chamber, it might pick contaminants or impurities such as oil and water.

For instance, water can condense into the air pathway and the air can also collect oil particles.

To get rid of the impurities or contaminants, you will need a CNG filter.

2) Filtering Process

Once the CNG gas reaches the filtration chamber, the CNG filter will trap or collect the impurities.

The CNG filter has an element with very small pores that can only allow gas particles to pass through.

These elements will block or trap any particle that is larger than the size of the CNG air particles.

In the process, it cleans or filters the CNG gas allowing clean air into the combustion chamber.

You should consider filter replacement after using it for a particular period of time.

This is because the CNG filter elements blocks from collecting impurities over a particular recommended period.

Here is a step by step process on how you can replace the CNG filter.

Removing the CNG Filter

First, you will ensure that the engine is off before locating the position of the CNG filter in the system.

After that, you will use your tools to unscrew the outer cover of the CNG filter.

You will then remove the CNG filter from its sockets.

Cleaning the CNG Filter Sockets

After removing the CNG filter, you have to clean the socket where you will remove the CNG filter from.

With the help of petrol or other types of recommended cleaners, you will get rid of the dirt within the socket.

Allow it to dry properly or clean it with a dry piece of cloth as you prepare the new CNG filter.

Replacing the CNG Filter

You can replace the old CNG filter with a new CNG filter b placing the new CNG filter within the sockets.

Make sure that you get the sizing of the CNG filter rights to avoid issues of misfits during the process.

Fasten the CNG filter and make sure that it fits in the socket well at maximum stability.

Finally, you will replace the housing and cover the CNG filter to keep other environmental factors like dust out.

When using the CNG filter, you will realize a number of benefits.

Here are some of the benefits of using the CNG filter.

· Cleans the CNG Fuel

The CNG filter cleans the CNG fuel and gets rid of the impurities within the fuel system.

You will get rid of the impurities from the system thus maintaining a clean and proper combustion system.

· Easy to Maintain and Replace

You do not have to hire professionals to help you with the maintenance process of the CNG filter.

All you have to do is locate the position of the CNG filter and make sure that you drain it on a regular basis.

Apart from that, the process of replacing the CNG filter is straight forward and will cost you less money.

· Reduction in Environmental Pollution

You will reduce the amount of pollutants coming from the combustion chamber by simply using the CNG filters.

Implying that the CNG filter will get rid of the debris that could lead to the formation and elimination of pollutants.

· Protects the Engine

You will also protect the engine from damage especially by getting rid of impurities that would otherwise cause damage.

· Increased Efficiency

The CNG filters will increase the efficiency of your system as it feeds it with clean CNG fuel.

Just like any device, you may also experience a certain level of discomfort while using the CNG filter.

Here are some of the disadvantages of using the CNG filter.

CNG filter coalescing element

· Clogging Issues

The more you use the CNG filter, the higher the chances that it will block from the numerous impurities it blocks.

You will have to do regular maintenance such as drainage and replacement which might be costly and time consuming.

· Prone to Erosion

You will also realize that at some instances the CNG filter will be allowing some of the debris into the fuel system.

This might be as a result of an increase in the pores sizes of the cleaning elements within the CNG filters.

You can sort this by doing regular replacement of the CNG filters which might cost you more.

· Reduced Speed of Delivery

CNG filters will also reduce the speed at which the CNG fuel flows through the system.

This is because the CNG fuel has to pass through the filter elements to eliminate the impurities which will slow it down.

Well, the amount of money that you will pay for the CNG filters will vary according to a number of factors.

Here are some of the factors that you need to take into consideration.

1. Type of CNG Filter

In this case, you will look at the types of CNG filters according to application as well as the quality.

High quality CNG filters will cost you more in comparison to the low quality CNG filters.

In terms of application, filters will vary in size thus the bigger the CNG filter, the more it will cost you.

2. Quantity of CNG Filters

Obviously, the more CNG filters that you will purchase, the more money you will pay for them.

In a nut shell, the cost of CNG filters range between 5 to 50 US dollars.

It is important to follow the CNG filter maintenance manual to the letter and avoid skipping maintenance schedules.

Here are the reasons why you have to change your CNG filters at the right time.

• You will affect the performance of your system if you fail to change the CNG filters at the right time.
• You might damage the engine system thus prompting you to pay more for the replacement of parts or the entire system.
• You might also have damages on the CNG kits as a result of oil shorts.

You can use the CNG filters in quite a number of applications where CNG fuel is a necessity.

Here are some of the industries where you will use the CNG filters.

CNG Filter in motor vehicle engine

· Motor Vehicle Industry

You will use the CNG filters to get rid of impurities from the CNG fuel system in your car.

It ensures that the combustion engine of your car receives clean CNG fuel thus protecting the engines.

· Natural Gas Industry

You will need a CNG filter to get rid of the impurities that it might collect during the production process.

As the gas flows through different chambers, it might pick different types of impurities on its way.

With the help of the CNG filter, you will ensure that you get rid of the impurities before you package the CNG gas.

· Locomotive Industry

You will need a CNG filter in your locomotives CNG system to get rid of impurities and increase performance.

You will also protect the integrity of the trains engines thus increasing the durability of the system.

CNG filters have different parts that work in conjunction with one another to filter the CNG fuel.

It is important to have knowledge of the essential parts to assist you with the operation process of the CNG filters.

Here are the main parts of the CNG filter that you have to know about.

· Filter Elements

CNG Filter Element

The filter elements are the core of the CNG filters responsible for separating different levels of contaminants from CNG fuel.

This will depend greatly on the type of filter media as well as the grade of the filter media you are using.

You will depend on the filter elements to permanently capture all the impurities from the CNG fuel.

You must also conduct periodic replacements of the elements according to the level of contamination.

· Filter Housing

This is the outer cover of the CNG filter with the ability to maintain the high pressure flowing through the system.

It consists of the CNG fuel inlet as well as the outlet with other flow paths to and from the CNG filter elements.

Apart from that, it has a condensate outlet where it will discharge the liquid impurities from the system.

Additionally, it has connections that will monitor the differential pressure across all the filter elements.

CNG Filter Housing

· Differential Pressure Gauges

You will depend on the differential pressure gauges to measure the differential pressure across all the CNG filter elements.

You will know when the time is right for the replacement of the CNG filter element due to end of the useful life.

Apart from that, it will indicate to you that the elements are full and you need to replace or drain them accordingly.

· Manual Condensate Drains

You will use the manual condensate drains for manual discharge of the separated liquids.

Additionally, it comes in handy for the relief of pressure from the CNG filtration system.

· Oil Indicators

You will use the oil indicators to measure the content of the oil aerosol within the CNG fuel.

It will also indicate the level of saturation and whether it is the right time to replace the CNG filters.

You must always purchase CNG filters of very high quality that adhere to the international quality standards.

Here are the international quality standards that you must look at in a CNG filter.

• International Standard Organization (ISO) quality standards such as ISO8573 quality standards.
• American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) Quality Standards
• Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) Quality Standards
• European Union Pressure Directive (PED) Quality Standards.

You will use cast aluminum as the best material for making the external surface of the CNG filters.

This is a high-grade material that is capable of maintaining resistance to the high-pressure systems within the filter housing.

The main characteristics of this materials include:

• Corrosion resistance thus keeping it away from the effects of the elements of rust.
• Abrasion proof on the exterior

It also increases the durability of the whole CNG pressure housing system.

CNG Filter Material

You will start the selection of high quality CNG filters by choosing the right filtration media.

You have to consider using filtration media that come complete with both layers of elements with or without binders.

Apart from that, the element must have supporting fabric that will increase stability and reliability from both sides.

Here are the main types of the best filter media that you can choose from.

• Pleated Filter Media
• Incorporated Drainage Media

You can choose to use the pleated filter media as it presents the following benefits.

• This type of filtration media provides a higher volume of filtration in comparison to the non-pleated media.
• It provides more space for holding contaminants thus reducing differential pressure as a result of solid particles retention.
• You will also spend less in the maintenance cost as the service life of the pleated filter elements increases.

In this case, the drainage and filter media are compacted between two supporting stainless-steel cylinders.

This will eliminate any potential of the drainage media from detaching itself from the supporting cylinders.

It also consists of big diamond shape openings that increases the optimum flow conditions of the CNG filters.

You will also have the drainage media right inside the filter element thus eliminating potential of handling damages.

It contributes lower to the differential pressure in the CNG filtration system.

Apart from that, they are environmentally friendly as the main material is expanded metal sheet without metal scraps.

You can use the CNG filter to perform different types of filtration thus getting rid of contaminants.

Here are the main types of filtration that you can perform using the CNG filter.

· Water Separation

The CNG filter will separate water droplets from the CNG fuel through different mean including:

1. Gravitational force water separation system
2. Centrifugal force water separation system
3. Inertial effects water separation system

It maintains a constant differential pressure thus guaranteeing high separation efficiency from the CNG fuel.

· Dry Type Filtration

This is the process of elimination solid particles from the compressed gas system.

As soon as the solids are in contact with the filtration media, they will remain intact preventing them from flowing.

In this case, the differential pressure will increase with an increase in the number of contaminants.

You can operate the elements from the inside to the outside or the other way around depending on your preference.

Most convenient type of flow will be towards the filters.

· Wet Type Filtration

The CVNG filter will combine a drainage media and a multi-layer filter media to eliminate liquid contaminants from CNG fuel.

It will result into a collection of large droplets which merge from the numerous droplets from the CNG fuel.

The drainage media will absorb the droplets and discharge them to the bottom of filter element due to gravitational force.

The differential pressure, in this case, will rise with increase in contaminant load in the filter element.

· Oil vapor Absorption

In this case, the CNG filter will get rid of the oil contaminants through adsorption to the activated carbon.

It has a filter media downstream that will eliminate the oil from the CNG filter to reduce clogging in the system.

The differential pressure will remain constant with proper direction of flow being towards the filtration media.

The CNG filters come complete with different types of filter elements.

Here are some of the filter elements which you can use in the CNG filter for proper filtration.

· Water Separator Element

This type of element is most suitable for separating water from the CNG fuel.

· Course Pre-filter Element

This is a type of pre-filter element that gets rid of the bigger and coarse contaminants before specific filtration begins.

· General Purpose Element

In this case, you will use this filter to eliminate all types of contaminants without specific selection.

· Fine Element

You will use this type of filter element to remove very fine particles of contaminants from the CNG fuel.

· Super-fine Element

This element has super fine holes that will only allow the movement of CNG fuel while trapping any other element.

· Activated Carbon Element

This type of element has the capacity of elimination impurities such as oil impurities from the CNG fuel.

In order to get the best types of CNG filters, you must have proper considerations of a number of factors.

Here are the main factors that you need to look at when purchasing the CNG filter elements.

· Type of Filter Media

There are different types of filter media that you can choose from including pleated or incorporated filter media.

This will affect the efficiency of the CNG filter to a great extent as well as the reliability of the whole system.

· Types of Filter Elements

There are numerous types of filter elements that you should have on the CNG filter.

There are situations where you can combine different types of filter elements in one CNG filter.

· Type of Housing Material

You must consider using the best type of filter housing material that is resistant to high pressure systems.

It must also exhibit corrosion resistance properties and abrasion resistance properties.

· Dimensions of the CNG Filter

One important factor that you have to pay close attention to is the size of the CNG filters you are purchasing.

Make sure you purchase a CNG filter that will fit the sockets of the CNG filtration system perfectly.

· Quality of the CNG Filter

High quality CNG filters are the best as they will serve you for a very long time with minimal cost of maintenance.

Apart from that, it has very high levels of accuracy, thus increasing the efficiency of the CNG filters.

As you can see, CNG filters play an integral role in many filtration systems.

Besides, there are many factors you should consider when choosing CNG filters; most of which we have covered in this guide.

Now, we want to know your experience with CNG filtration systems – whether you have a question or want to buy some for your business.

FilSon Filters team will be here to help you.