Purification of crude wax using a filter medium modified with a nanofiber coating

The presence of inorganic substances in the composition of crude wax decreases its commercial value, necessitating purification of the product. A new physical surface treatment for filter media involving the application of nanofibers of Nylon-6 polymer was developed using the Forcespinning® equipment. The performance of the nanofiber-coated filter was compared with the results obtained for other filter media of the same composition (nonwoven aramid fiber fabric), one without physical treatment, and another treated using singeing. An experimental design was carried out to find the optimum operating temperature and pressure (170 °C and 2.5 bar, respectively). The filtrate volume, specific resistance of the filter cake, and filter medium resistance were determined, keeping the filtration time, temperature, and pressure constant at 1 h, 170 °C, and 2.5 bar, respectively. The nanofiber-coated filter showed the best performance, providing a higher wax filtrate volume and greater retention of inorganics, with values of 5.39 × 10−5 m3 and 99.6%, respectively.