Baleen Filters water filters

About the Product

Company: Baleen Filters
Product Phase: Available
Product Type: Water filtering system
Patent Name: Filter with Counter Flow Clearing
Patent Number: WO/1998/023357

Inspiring Strategy

Baleen plates filter food: blue whale >

Product or process

The Baleen filter is a highly efficient, non-pressurized self-cleaning separation technology that offers reliable, trouble-free filtration to 25 microns without chemical assistance. Therefore there are only two filter outputs--filtrate and collected solids. With chemical assistance, it's possible to get filtration to 3 microns.

The Baleen filter was originally patented by the University of South Australia based on studies of whales. The baleen is a filter mechanism that enables filter-feeding whales to collect plankton, small fish, and other marine organisms from the water during feeding. The combination of a sweeping action of the tongue and the reversing of the water flows as the whales dive and re-surface during feeding, enable them to capture and strain food, then clean their baleen prior to the next dive. The Baleen filter technology is an adaptation of this natural technique used by whales to keep their baleen clean and free from long-term deposits.

Here are a few examples of benefits:

• Offers simple wastewater handling practices for environmentally sustainable development.
• Realization of value-added by-product recovery opportunities and associated markets. E.g. composting, biogas generation, soil conditioners, vermiculture, nutrient and minerals reclamation, farm feeds, tallow and protein recovery.
• Increased water recycling or re-use.
• Land traditionally used for settling ponds can now be reclaimed.
• Can be readily adapted to mobile clean-up systems and emergency pollution response (for oil spills and land remediation etc) due to its innovative, enhanced separation capability.