Specialist filtration
Baleen filters: self-cleaning filtration down to microns, at full flow
An award-winning, globally patented self-cleaning filter that removes micron-sized particles at high flow rates — supplied and supported in South Africa by Prosep.
Most fine filtration forces a trade-off: fine screening at low flow, or high flow with coarse screening — and either way, media that blinds, backwashes or needs replacing. The Baleen Filter refuses the trade-off. It is a self-cleaning filter, patented globally and the winner of a dozen international awards between 2000 and 2010, that removes material from 10 mm down to 25 micron at high flow rates without chemical assistance — and finer still with it.
Prosep supplies and supports Baleen filtration in South Africa, engineering it into the water programmes we already run: effluent screening, sewage polishing, pre-treatment ahead of membranes, and resource recovery where the solids in the water are worth more than the water itself.
How it works
A double act of sprays does the cleaning
Static filter media, kept permanently clean by two working sprays — one dislodges, one sweeps.
The self-cleaning double act
The technology is a simple but ingenious 'double act' of high-pressure, low-volume sprays: one dislodges material caught by the filter media, the other sweeps it away for collection. Water flows over static filter media; anything larger than the screen aperture is removed, everything smaller passes through.
Micron-fine, without media changes
The Baleen Filter removes floatable, visible and settleable material, high solids loadings, and fats, oils and grease — from 10 mm down to 25 micron without chemical assistance, and finer still with it. Because the screen cleans itself continuously, there is no filter media to replace.
Modular, at your flow rate
A modular system that adapts to the flow and the periphery design a site actually has, with a low cost of capital installation and maintenance. It has been designed to perform where other technologies have failed.
Applications
Where micron-fine screening earns its keep
From effluent and sewage duty to membrane protection and mining recovery — the filter fits wherever solids and water need separating at flow.
Effluent screening
Abattoirs, tanneries, fruit and vegetable processing, and paper and tissue plants — pulling the solids, fats and grease load out of effluent before it reaches the treatment works or the discharge point.
Sewage & MBR protection
Pre-screening and protection ahead of membrane bioreactors, and final polishing of treated sewage water — fine screening that protects the expensive stages downstream.
Potable & pre-RO duty
Pre-treatment ahead of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration, desalination duty, and sand filter replacement — micron-fine screening without the backwash burden of media beds.
Mining & resource recovery
Fine coal recovery from thickener feed and slimes dams, fine carbon recovery and gland service water polishing on gold plants, and platinum concentrate collection from thickener overflow — solids that are worth money, recovered from water.
Fits the programme
One stage in a full water programme
A Baleen filter rarely works alone — it screens for a treatment train, protects a membrane, or recovers value inside a reuse scheme.
Flocculation & clarification
Chemical solids removal — upstream or instead, the jar test decides.
Related serviceWater reuse & recovery
Fine screening is often the stage that makes reuse viable.
Related serviceEffluent treatment
The full treatment train the filter screens for.
Related serviceMining
Recovery duties across coal, gold and platinum.
Sector pagePulp, paper & packaging
Fibre-heavy effluent, screened before it costs you.
Sector pageHow we work
Assess, engineer, prove, monitor — filters included.
Our methodFAQ
Baleen filter questions
What is a Baleen filter?
A self-cleaning fine filter — a globally patented technology that has won multiple international design awards. It removes floatable, visible and settleable material, high solids loadings, and fats, oils and grease from water at high flow rates, from 10 mm down to 25 micron without chemical assistance and finer with it. Prosep supplies and supports Baleen filtration in South Africa.
How does the self-cleaning mechanism work?
Through a 'double act' of high-pressure, low-volume sprays. As water flows over the static filter media, one spray dislodges the material the screen has caught while the other sweeps it away for collection — so the screen keeps filtering continuously without media replacement or manual cleaning.
What is a Baleen filter used for?
Effluent screening at abattoirs, tanneries, fruit and vegetable processors and paper plants; pre-screening and final polishing in sewage treatment, including MBR protection; pre-treatment ahead of RO, nanofiltration and desalination; sand filter replacement; and resource recovery in mining — fine coal, fine carbon and platinum concentrate recovered from process water.
How does it compare to a sand filter or a static screen?
A sand filter needs backwashing and a static screen blinds over and needs manual cleaning; the Baleen Filter cleans itself as it runs. It was designed to perform where other technologies have failed, with a low cost of capital installation and maintenance — which is why sand filter replacement is one of its listed duties.
Solids your current screens can't hold?
Tell us the stream, the solids and the flow. We'll tell you whether Baleen filtration fits — and engineer it into the programme if it does.