Patent ID: 7316778

Claim:
An oil filter, comprising: a hollow housing having an inlet and outlet in defining a chamber therein with a flow path between the inlet and the outlet; a mechanically active filter member disposed inside the housing in the flow path; and a chemically active filter member disposed inside the housing in the flow path; wherein the chemically active filter member comprises a plurality of pellets, retained within said filter so as to provide an oil flow path through said chemically active filter member and past said pellets during operation, said pellets having a diameter in a range of 0.10 to 3 mm, said pellets comprising: a polymeric binder which is present in a range of 3-20 percent by weight of the total weight of the pellet; and a basic salt selected from the group consisting of calcium carbonate, potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate, aluminum dihydroxy sodium carbonate, magnesium oxide, magnesium carbonate, zinc oxide, sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and mixtures thereof, the basic salt being present in a range of 80-97 percent by weight of the total pellet weight.