In many applications and industrial processes, no filter media can be substituted for porous ceramics. The ever-increasing demands for performance and process technologies, together with an increasing concern for the environment, illustrate the reason for a worldwide increase in the significance of ceramic filter media. For more technically demanding dust filtration applications, ceramics are highly efficient, achieving better results than often demanded by legal requirements.

An efficient filtration of the air and nitrogen mixture or of the combustion gases is essential to prevent the degradation of the platinum gauze in the production of nitric acid. Particle contaminations are poisons for the catalyst gauze. In particular, rust and iron particles, even in traces, have a deleterious effect on the process efficiency. Ceramic cartridges have been used very successfully for decades for filtering ammonia, air and mixed gases. The lifetime cycle is determined by the platinum gauze, and the filters are typically changed during preventive maintenance.