Abstract: A rotary filter (10) is disclosed which has a rotating drum (24) disposed within a pressure housing (12). The drum (24) is perforated to form a mesh surface over which a support layer (27) is affixed. Filter material is deposited on the support layer (27) to form a filter layer (30). The particulate matter within a fluid stream is removed by the filter layer (30) to form a filter cake (43 ) on the surface of the filter layer (30). A blade (42) scrapes the filter cake (43) from the surface of filter layer (30) and deposits the scraped filter cake (43) within a chamber (38). The rotary filter (10) thus operates continuously to filter the process fluid to prevent increasing the fluid pressure across the filter layer (30) due to blocking of the filter.