In various industrial applications (e.g. cement plants, spray-drying plants and coal-fired power plants), regenerable surface filters are used to reduce emissions or recover products. Pleated filter elements are one type of surface filter. The pleating of the filter medium creates a larger filtration surface with a more compact design. This offers, for example, the possibility of small, compact extraction systems with a large filtration surface, which can be used mobile and as required. However, folding the medium causes certain difficulties during filtration operation with regard to regeneration and the service life of the filter elements.

The research project deals with the influences of pleating on filtration operation. Among other things, the influence on the regeneration of the filter medium, the particle emission and the pressure loss will be examined in detail. From the findings on a laboratory apparatus, similarity variables are to be determined as part of a scale-up and the findings transferred to systems on a pilot plant scale. This should support manufacturers in the design and dimensioning of pleated filter elements.