A new filtration system with a spiral guide rod in a ceramic tube and slurry prepared in a well dispersed state has been developed. This paper discusses the optimization of operating conditions such as the effects of the spiral guide rod, the pitch of the spiral guide rod, the filtration pressure and the flow rate of circulation on the filtration flux. In addition, using a filter after filtrating dense slurry, ultrasonication test and repeated filtration tests in short and long intervals were carried out. In this system, it was shown that the filtration flux was dramatically improved compared to the conventional cross-flow filtration system. The filtration flux increased with the flow rate of circulation and did not depend on the filtration pressure. The achieved optimal value of the pitch produced the maximum filtration flux. It was also shown that fouled particles can be removed easily and the filtration flux can be recovered to the initial condition by ultrasonication. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.