Problem → Solution
Sand or disc filters reaching their limit in tertiary treatment?
When tertiary filtration runs out of capacity or space, pile cloth media filtration is the compact upgrade — more filtration area, lower backwash demand, stable effluent.
Sand filters and older disc filters do a solid job — until load, footprint or effluent limits push them past their design point. Deep sand beds need space and large backwash volumes; disc filters with worn or coarse media let solids through. Pile cloth media filtration works back from the same goal — clean, stable effluent — with a far higher filtration area in a compact footprint.
You probably recognise one of these
Effluent turbidity or TSS values fluctuate and occasionally exceed the limit.
The tertiary stage is at capacity and there is no space to expand.
Sand-filter backwash consumes large volumes of water and energy.
Existing disc-filter media is worn or too coarse and lets solids through.
You need more polishing capacity without a new civil-works basin.
From problem to product
We do not start with the product; we start with the cause.
Tertiary stage at its limit
Effluent values fluctuate, capacity is maxed out, and there is no room to add more sand filters.
Limited area, high backwash
Deep beds and low specific area mean large footprint and high backwash water demand.
Pile cloth media filtration
High filtration area per unit volume in a compact, surface-filtering cloth medium.
Cloth / disc filtration
Rotating cloth discs or segments filter on the surface and backwash only where needed.
Pile cloth filter media
Microfibre pile cloth in defined finenesses — selected for your solids and target quality.
Pile cloth disc media
Pile cloth filter media and segments for disc and cloth media filters.
How we solve it
More area, less space
Pile cloth offers a high filtration area in a compact footprint — often within existing structures.
Lower backwash demand
Surface filtration with targeted backwash reduces water and energy compared with deep-bed sand filters.
Stable effluent quality
Defined cloth fineness gives consistent polishing of turbidity and suspended solids.
Media matched to your load
We select the pile cloth fineness for your solids and target effluent quality.
From an overloaded stage to a compact upgrade
Tertiary filtration exists to polish an already-treated effluent — to hold turbidity and suspended solids reliably below the limit. Sand filters achieve this with a deep bed, which means footprint and large periodic backwashes. When flows rise or limits tighten, that model runs out of room, both hydraulically and physically.
Pile cloth media filtration takes a different route: a textile pile cloth filters on its surface, offering a very high filtration area in a compact unit. Backwash is targeted rather than flooding the whole bed, so water and energy demand drop. In many plants pile cloth discs fit into or beside existing structures, avoiding new basins.
The key is matching the cloth to the duty. We select pile cloth media in a defined fineness for your solids load and target effluent quality — whether the aim is a stable turbidity value, tighter TSS, or additional polishing ahead of disinfection or reuse. Deeper product ranges and technical detail live on our specialist site pile-cloth-filtration.eu.
The product: pile cloth disc media
Pile cloth filter media and segments for disc and cloth media filters — selected in the right fineness for your tertiary filtration duty.
Frequently asked questions
What is pile cloth media filtration?
It is a surface filtration process using a textile pile cloth as the filter medium. The pile offers a very high filtration area in a compact unit and is cleaned by targeted backwash, making it a compact alternative to deep-bed sand filters in tertiary treatment.
Can pile cloth filtration replace a sand filter?
In many tertiary polishing duties, yes. Pile cloth offers more filtration area in less space and lower backwash demand. The right choice depends on your flow, solids load and target effluent quality — which is exactly what we assess.
Can I upgrade an existing disc filter with your media?
Often yes — we supply pile cloth filter media and segments and select the fineness for your duty. Send us your filter type and effluent requirement.
How do I choose the right cloth fineness?
The fineness is selected from your solids load and target effluent quality (e.g. turbidity or TSS). We work this out with you as part of a short engineering assessment.
Tell us about your filtration problem
A short, guided assessment is enough — it goes straight to our engineering team, free and without obligation.