Industrial Water Filtration Systems
Industrial water filtration removes suspended solids, oil and metal fines from process water, coolant and wastewater so the liquid can be reused or discharged. K Factor builds the automatic systems that do it — in Hamilton, Ontario, since 1987.
Eight ways to take solids out of a liquid
Automatic self-cleaning filters
Roll-media filters that renew their own media as it loads; the flow never stops.
Flow: 70 to 1,500 GPM
For: process water, paint pretreatment, machining coolant, parts washers
Automatic backwash filters (K-Optifil)
A pressure filter that cleans its screen by reversing flow for a few seconds, on differential pressure, without stopping the line.
Flow: 5 to 3,000+ GPM
For: service water, cooling water, river and lake intake, nuclear service water
Self-cleaning strainers
Inline pressure strainers that remove debris ahead of pumps, nozzles and heat exchangers and clean themselves on demand.
Flow: 5 to 500 GPM
For: pump protection, nozzle protection, cooling tower side-stream
Inline vacuum filters (KAV and Q-Filter)
Vacuum pulls the liquid through the media, so fine solids and heavy sludge come out dry.
Flow: Up to 400 GPM
For: CNC grinding, central coolant, phosphate pretreatment, laundry
Magnetic separators (K-MAG)
Rare-earth drums pull ferrous fines out of the stream with no media and no consumables.
For: grinding, honing, e-coat and phosphate lines, degreasing
Oil water separators
Separate free oil from water by gravity and coalescing, for reuse or discharge.
For: works yards, wash bays, compressor condensate, process water
Coolant filtration systems
Media, vacuum or magnetic filtration sized for machine-tool coolant, central or at the machine.
For: CNC machining, grinding, honing, tube and wire drawing
Cakefil candle filters
Pressure filtration on candle elements for fine solids and sludge dewatering, with automatic cake discharge.
Flow: Over 1,000 m³/h per vessel
For: chemical, food and pharma, mining water
Which filter for which solids?
| What is in the water | What handles it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fine suspended solids (25 micron and up) | Automatic self-cleaning filter or K-Optifil backwash filter | Media or screen, self-renewing, no stop to clean. |
| Ferrous fines and weld slag | Magnetic separator, ahead of any other filter | Takes the magnetic load off the media; no consumables. |
| Free oil | Oil water separator | Gravity and coalescing; the solids filter goes before it. |
| Heavy sludge, scale, high solids | Vacuum filter or Cakefil | Vacuum or pressure through the cake; solids come out dry. |
Most process streams carry two of these at once. The order of the equipment matters more than the equipment — which is why we ask for the process first.
How we work
- 1
You send us the process — flow, what the solids are, and what the filter feeds.
- 2
We size from that, not from a catalogue number, and tell you which of the eight it is.
- 3
We build it in Hamilton, commission it, and supply the media or elements after.
Where it runs
K Factor systems run on automotive paint pretreatment lines, nuclear plant service water, municipal works yards, breweries, wood-panel plants and machine shops across Canada and the United States. Named references available on request.
Questions
What is industrial water filtration?
Industrial water filtration removes suspended solids, oil and metal fines from process water, coolant and wastewater so the liquid can be reused or discharged.
Which filter do I need?
It depends on what is in the water. Fine solids take a self-cleaning or backwash filter; ferrous fines take a magnetic separator first; free oil takes an oil water separator; heavy sludge takes a vacuum or candle filter. Send us the process and we will tell you which.
Do you build the whole system or just the filter?
The whole system — filter, pump, tank, controls and commissioning — or the filter alone to fit what you have.
Send us your process
Flow, what the solids are, and what the filter feeds. We study it before we quote.