Stacked disc modules have been widely used in food/beverage and pharmaceutical with surface filtration, depth filtration and adsorption filtration.

Edible oils, syrups, beer, wine, etc. often contain fine suspended particles that must be removed to achieve various goals such as product polishing, bioburden reduction, clarification and filtration, protection food safety, and shelf-life extension. However, the burden of these solids can be high, which is a great challenge for membrane cartridges for surface filtration. The contaminant holding capacity of the cartridge is limited by the available surface area and void volume, leading to fast clogging. At this point, the solution can be solved by adding more cartridges, but it no doubt add more investment.

Classic stacked disc modules represent first generation module design, but they have performance disadvantages. The sheets are directly exposed and can be damaged during transportation, handling, installation and removal. Modules may fall apart when removed from housing at the end of the process. Hot water sterilization or filtration can lead to warping and two cells to stick together, thus reducing the filter area. The module cannot be steam sterilized, limiting applications. Due to the lack of backflushing, which reduces the overall service life of the stacked disc module.