Stainless steel filter cartridges are suitable for use in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceutical, chemical process, water and petrochemical. They find use where the operating environment requires the robustness of design provided by a fully welded cartridge and/or the resistance to aggressive fluids of stainless steel. For some filtration applications, the use of a conventional disposable polymeric cartridge may simply not be environmentally acceptable and the use of a recleanable cartridge will often give more cost effective filtration. Susceptibility to chemical attack varies considerably between solutions and is greatest at the extremes of the pH scale. It also varies according to the duration of exposure and operating temperature.