ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

OF PRE-COATING PLEATED
FILTER CARTRIDGES

by Mark Belcher
Donaldson Torit Filtration Engineering Manager

Filter pre-coating is the practice of intentionally loading a porous particulate layer onto a filter media in
a dust collector to enhance some aspect of performance. For reasons discussed below, pre-coating is
sometimes considered advantageous for pleated cartridge filters, but you may not find it to be the best
choice for many applications.

There are two basic reasons pre-coating would be considered for new clean filter media. Before considering
the possible use of pre-coating, you should understand the differences and impacts of it, including how a
single application of pre-coating may only be a temporary fix.

PRE-COATING FOR HIGHER INITIAL EFFICIENCY
Pre-coating is often suggested as a means of
increasing the initial efficiency of lower performance
filter media. New, unused cellulose or cellulose-
synthetic blend filter medias often offer initial
efficiencies of only 30% on sub-micron particles
(based on ASHRAE 52.2 testing). The filtration
efficiency performance does gradually improve
as dust is deposited on the media (as it’s loaded),
but this enhanced efficiency performance can be
accelerated with the use of pre-coating. As the pre-
coating builds a layer of particulate on the surface
of the filter media, it acts as a pre-filter, capturing
submicron and other particles from the airstream
before they can penetrate into the filter media, so
overall filter efficiency improves.
Pre-coating suppliers often suggest amounts of
pre-coating material application, from as little as 0.5
lb (or 227 grams) of pre-coating per cartridge filter
to up to 2.5 lbs (or 1,134 grams) of pre-coating per
filter. It is worth noting that while the addition of pre-
coating to the filter can increase initial efficiency, the
addition of pre-coating also means there will be an
increase in filter restriction to airflow. Depending on
the type and amount of pre-coating, this increase in
filter restriction can become very significant and the
increased pressure drop will require more energy
to move air. Additionally, there is a cost associated
with the application of the pre-coating, as well as the
disposal of the secondary waste steam.
Pre-coating filter media for enhanced filtration
efficiency is only a temporary fix. Cartridge
collectors typically extend filter life by using
compressed air cleaning pulses to periodically
remove accumulated “dust cake” from the surface
of the filter media. When cartridges are pulse cleaned,
substantial amounts of collected particulate and pre-
coating materials are both dislodged and removed
from the media surface. The media once covered by
pre-coating now behaves more like untreated filter
media. The efficiency adjusts accordingly because
the filter media is exposed to fine particles that can
penetrate into and bleed through the media.
PRE-COATING FOR LONGER LIFE
The end of life for filter media occurs when pressure
drop across the filter media becomes either high
enough to substantially restrict airflow or the
increase in energy cost to operate the fan against the
increased resistance reaches such a level it becomes
impractical to continue to operate the fan with
plugged filters. The general logic behind claims of
extended filter life through pre-coating is dependent
on the assumption that pre-coating minimizes the
amount of small particles penetrating into the depth
of the filter media (minimizing the rate of plugging
for the media). That may be a reasonable assumption
immediately following the application of pre-coating
material because the pre-coating material acts as a
barrier to smaller particles entering the actual media.
However, as discussed earlier, any pulse cleaning
of the filter media will disrupt that barrier, and since
the pre-coating is removed with each pulse cleaning,
its benefits are also removed. After pre-coating has
been disturbed and lost during pulse cleaning, the
filters begin to load just like untreated filters, and the
operating pressure drop again begins to increase
accordingly as the media begins to plug, see Figure 1.
Premium grade filter media can offer the enhanced
filtration characteristics promised by pre-coating
without the potential loss of filtration performance
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that occurs with the loss of the pre-coating materials
during pulse cleaning. This opportunity for enhanced
performance is explained below.
A BETTER SOLUTION
To avoid the disadvantages of pre-coating, users
could instead utilize premium grade filters. Premium
grade filters generally offer some form of permanent
surface treatment that collects particulate on the
surface of the media and protects the substrate from
dust loading. The most common types of surface
treatments include directly-applied nanofibers,
meltblown laminations, or PTFE layers. Meltblown-
coated premium filters offer efficiency but don’t pulse
clean effectively because sub-micron particles are
often captured in the depth of the meltblown layer.
This results in shorter overall filter life. PTFE-coated
filters are also usually efficient and in most situations
pulse clean effectively, but they typically operate
at a higher air resistance or pressure drop (and use
more energy). Typically, they are also much more
expensive than other premium grade filters. Filters
with a directly-applied nanofiber surface layer offer
FIGURE 1 – The effect of pre-coating material on a filter.
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excellent efficiency and pulse clean effectively - plus
they operate at relatively low pressure drops and are
generally are very cost effective, see Figure 2.
Of the premium grades, nanofiber filters offer the
best option in most cases. Medias for premium filters
with nanofiber are composed of a substrate (often
similar to generic cellulose cartridge media) with a
permanent surface layer of fine fibers. This layer is
often less than one micron thick, so plugging or depth
loading in this layer isn’t an issue. The premium fine
fibers on high quality nanofiber cartridges will be
nanofibers, usually measuring 0.3 microns or smaller
in diameter, and they will form a permanent matrix of
small pores on the surface of the filter media. Because
the fibers in the surface layer are so small in size, they
don’t noticeably increase the resistance to air so initial
pressure drop stays lower.
If a user wants higher initial efficiency, nanofiber
filters are an excellent option. Efficiency of a clean
and new nanofiber cartridge will be much higher than
a generic cartridge; typical nanofiber cartridges are
at least 65% efficient on sub-micron particles while
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Figure 2 – Donaldson® Torit® Ultra-Web® media – clean media vs. surface-loaded media (with substrate still clean).

a generic filter may struggle to achieve 30 % initial
efficiency, and operating efficiency for the nanofiber
filter will increase very quickly. ASHRAE 52.2 testing
demonstrates that after one ounce (or 28.35 grams)
of particulate is fed to a nanofiber cartridge, its sub-
micron efficiency can easily exceed 90%.
Users also seeking longer filter cartridge life will
benefit from the use of premium grade nanofiber
filters. In operation, dust loads on the surface of the
nanofiber media. When the media is pulse cleaned,
most of the dust cake is dislodged from the media
and is removed from the filter. The nanofiber layer

Figure 3 – The effect of nanofiber layer on a filter.

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though remains intact, and continues to protect the
substrate from depth loading and blinding. Because
depth loading is no longer significant, the nanofiber
cartridges continuously clean to a lower operating
pressure drop than any of the other media options,
and produce significantly longer life, see Figure 3.
Finally, the enhanced pulse cleaning performance
of premium nanofiber media results in less frequent
demand for cleaning and a lower average resistance
to airflow (pressure drop) across the filters because
the substrate does not suffer the depth loading
associated with generic media filter. The lower pulse
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cleaning demand conserves compressed air, and
because premium grade nanofiber filters operate at a
lower average operating pressure drop, the premium
nanofiber media cartridges save horsepower during
fan operation. The combination of saved horsepower
and compressed air savings can total significant
energy savings over their useful life.
The extended life, improved efficiency, and energy
savings offered by premium grade nanofiber
cartridges mean they are generally a more cost
effective solution than pre-coating.