Many power plants use river or seawater as a source for cooling water. This cooling water is used for the surface condenser cooling circuit. The surface condenser is a water-cooled shell and tube heat exchanger installed to condense exhaust steam from a steam turbine and convert steam from its gaseous to its liquid state at a pressure below atmospheric pressure. In this application the SAB filter reliably removes solids, algae and other microorganisms upstream of the heat exchangers and ensures a high heat exchange rate.