Patent ID: 7288199

Claim:
A ceramic filter, comprising: a substrate; a separation layer comprising titania and having an average pore size in a range of 0.08 to 0.61 μm and a thickness in a range of 10 to 20 μm; and an intermediate layer formed between said substrate and said separation layer, said intermediate layer comprising aggregate particles bonded together with glass frits, said aggregate particles of said intermediate layer being smaller than an average pore size of said substrate and larger than aggregate particles of said separation layer, and said glass frits having an average particle size, in terms of volume definition, that is equal to or smaller than ⅔ of the average particle size of said aggregate particles of said intermediate layer and containing 10% by volume or less of particles having a size that is equal to or larger than 3/2 of the average particle size of said aggregate particles of said intermediate layer, wherein said ceramic filter has a maximum pore size of 2.5 μm or less, and wherein said ceramic filter exhibits a bacteria removal performance of at least 6.