Microfiltration (“MF”) is a proven filtration process based on microporous membranes. Separation is achieved based on a process where a liquid is forced through a semipermeable membrane through the application of pressure. Suspended solids and solutes of high molecular weight are retained, while water and low molecular weight solutes pass through the membrane in the permeate or filtrate. MF membranes can typically filter out suspended solids, bacteria, viruses and many other contaminants. Like a sieve, the separation process is based on size exclusion.

Microfiltration usually serves as a pre-treatment for other separation processes such as ultrafiltration, and as a post-treatment for media filtration. It also has a wide application range within the food & beverage industry, i.e. for milk and whey processing or the filtration of beverages to remove solids from the liquid.

MF membranes are defined by the so-called molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), which relates to the size of the particles which can be filtered with the particular membrane. They are used in either cross-flow or dead-end mode.