Filter cartridge sealing composition and process therefor

Claim 1

A filter cartridge comprising: (a) end cap means having a reservoir cavity with a bottom surface; (b) cartridge elements comprising in concentric alignment: a central core, an elongated porous membrane structure for filtering liquid passing therethrough, elongated porous support means for the membrane structure, and an outer cage, the cartridge elements having end portions at each end of their elongated structure; (c) an end portion of the cartridge element being embedded in a first resin adhesive in the cavity adjacent the bottom surface of the cap means and secured thereto, the adhesive having a viscosity ranging from about 200,000 to 3,000,000 cps prior to setting; (d) a second resin adhesive located in the cavity on top of the first adhesive, the second adhesive having a viscosity of from about 1,500 to 20,000 cps prior to curing; (e) substantially all the capillaries at the endmost portions of (1) the membrane structure and (2) the support means being penetrated and sealed with the second adhesive, as a result of having been previously embedded in the second adhesive for a period sufficient to permit such penetration and sealing; and (f) the first adhesive compatible with and bonded to the second adhesive and to the impervious edges formed by the second adhesive in conjunction with the end portions of the membrane structure and the support means, the resins of the adhesives having setting temperatures below the decomposition temperatures of the cap means and the filter media.