TechnologIES – POROUS MEMBRANES

PES Membranes

Strong and Durable Hydrophilic Microporous Membranes

PES Membranes for Filtration Applications

PES membrane technology consists of a unique asymmetric pore structure that enables controlled rejection at the surface while promoting maximum throughput of the membrane. These hydrophilic membranes have high flow rates, good pH resistance, and low protein and drug binding characteristics, making this technology ideal for nanofiltration and ultrafiltration applications. These semi-permeable membranes are available in a flat sheet configuration at pore sizes ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 microns. The product conforms to 3-A, FDA, and USDA sanitary standards.

Properties of PES membranes

Physical properties

When designing your polyethersulfone (PES) membrane, it’s critical to understand these key physical properties that impact the materials and functionality of the part:

Pore size: the size of the voids in the porous media. To support nanofiltration and ultrafiltration applications, PES membranes have small pore size options, ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 microns. Porex can help you to determine what size is right for you to optimize your device’s performance.
Operating temperature: the temperature range at which the final porous fiber part will be required to operate. For PES membranes, operating temperatures can go up to 130ºF.

Polymer	Pore Sizes (microns)	Pore Volume (%)	Operating Temperature (^◦F)
Polyethersulfone (PES)	0.01 to 0.1	n/a	130
Polyethylene (PE)	5 to 250	25-60	180
Polypropylene (PP)	100 to 300	30-40	250
Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF)	20 to 30	30-40	300
Polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE)	<1 to 60	30-70	400
Track-Etched Membrane (PET)	0.02 to 8	n/a	350

Chemical properties

Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane is transparent and amorphous in structure, exhibiting superior oxidative, thermal, and hydrolytic strength in both hot and wet environments. It is one of the most well-known materials used in ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and gas separation applications. Below is a chart illustrating the chemical compatibility of PES versus our other readily available polymer technologies:

Chemicals	PES	PE	PP	PTFE	PVDF	TEM (PET)
Acids (non-oxidizing)	Fair-Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Poor
Bases	Good	Good	Good	Good	Poor	Poor
Oils	Fair-Good	Fair-Good	Fair-Good	Good	Good	Good
Aromatic solvents	Good	Poor	Poor	Good	Good	Fair-Good
Non-polar aliphatic solvent	Good	Fair	Fair	Good	Good	Good
Polar-aprotic solvents	Good	Fair-Good	Fair-Good	Good	Poor	Good
Polar-Protic solvents	Fair-Good	Fair-Good	Fair-Good	Good	Good	Poor
Halogenated solvent	Good	Poor	Poor	Good	Good	Fair-Good
Oxidizing agents	Fair-Good	Poor	Poor	Good	Good	Fair-Good

Porex’s PES membrane filters are available as standard sheets or rolls ranging in pore size from 0.01 to 0.1 microns.

Polyethersulfone (PES)

For life science applications requiring nanofiltration and ultrafiltration, PES membrane filters are a perfect choice due to their chemical stability, mechanical and thermal resistance, superior flow rate, high throughput, and low protein and drug binding functions. Whether it be hemodialysis, blood apheresis, blood glucose testing, sterile pharmaceutical filtration, lateral flow assays, infusion therapy, or microbial analysis, our PES membranes are there to reliably support you with pore sizes ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 microns.

When you partner with Porex, our team works closely with yours to better understand your device and application so we can select the most appropriate material that suits your needs. In addition to PES membranes, we also have other porous polymers and membrane technologies available to you depending on your pore size, pore volume, operating temperature, or other applicational requirements.

Common applications for PES membranes

Filter

PES membrane filters are commonly used in life science applications, such as hemodialysis, blood apheresis, blood glucose testing, sterile pharmaceutical filtration, lateral flow assays, infusion therapy, or microbial analysis. Their small pore sizes allow for nanofiltration and ultrafiltration to take place.

Breadth of Porous Media Solutions

Standard and Customizable Porous Products