How Filter Presses Are Used In Various Industries?

Where Did Filter Presses Come From?

Origin Of The Liquid/Solid Separation Equipment –

In the mid 19th century in the United Kingdom, one used a rudimentary form of filter presses to extract vegetable oil from seeds. However, when in the 20th-century, major developments took place everywhere; scientists developed an automatic horizontal-type filter press. Since then, filter presses have gone through a lot of technological advancements and changes. The technological changes made filter press machines significantly lowered the energy and maintenance costs of the equipment.

In a filter press machine, the total filtration cost is 1/6th the cost of what we would get in a centrifuge. NMP provides you with many different types of filter presses. However, the plate and frame filter press is the most traditionally used dewatering equipment. Moving the leftover solid through a filter press is cheaper and easier than the entire slurry. The clean water obtained through the filter press is discharged into the local municipalities and watersheds or used in their own closed-loop systems by the plant managers. Filter presses are commonly used for aggregation and mining operations and washout water recovery of “ready-mix” concrete. It is also used to manufacture food and beverages. Filter presses are used to cut marble and stone and various others.

All filter press manufacturers work under a similar principle, even though they have various styles. A feeding pump pumps the slurries of water mixed with solids into the filter press machine. Once the slurry is inside the machine, a centrifugal pump gives pressure to push the slurry through chambers built of filter plates. The process eliminates the impurities from the liquid in the form of "filter cakes ."When the chamber in the filter presses is full, the machine discharges the filter cake, and the filtration cycle is complete. NMP designs such filter press machines that can run continuously for 24 hours without any problem.

Use Of Filter Presses In Various Industries

In The Chemical Industry –

The filter press machine is the most commonly used equipment for separating liquid and solid. Various types of filter presses are utilized in the chemical industry. Some are chamber filter press, diaphragm filter press, plate and frame filter press, and others.

• When the electrolysis of copper, anode sludge settles on the base of the electrolysis cell, which is left over as an intermediate product. The settling of the anode sludge happens at the time of dissolution of the copper anodes. The sludge contains insoluble and noble minor elements, including silver, gold, selenium, and tellurium.

  The metals present inside the sludge go through many stages before finally becoming fine metals or intermediates that one can recycle. The sludge can be dried up or should have less than 3% water content if one wants to go for more advanced metal extraction. For the drying up process, one can use a membrane filter press.

• For producing aluminum pigments on a grand scale, the aluminum that needs to be treated is melted initially. After melting the aluminum, it is atomized after reaching its melting temperature. There is a formation of irregular-shaped, spherical particles, also known as aluminum grit, after the melting and atomizing of aluminum.

  Wet grinding in ball mills with lubricant and white spirit is mixed with the aluminum grit. The surplus white spirit is filtered out from the slurry after successfully grinding and screening the agglomerates. One will obtain a concentrated pigment after going through the entire process. The dried-up filter cake is 20% white spirit and 80% aluminum pigment. The pigment is then customized according to various commercial needs.

In The Food And Beverage Industry -

Many foods and beverages depend on filter presses for their production. Foods such as dairy products, fruits, vegetables, maple syrup, meat, fish, and others. Below is listed some of the common use of filtration method in the food and beverage industry –

• For the production of salt, basket centrifuges are primarily used.
• For separating the cream from the milk, Disc centrifuges are commonly used and are still used today.
• Membranes in filter presses are used to eliminate impurities from the water before they are used as an ingredient in food and beverages.
• Various steps in the filtration, including micro and nanofiltration, are needed in the wet milling of corn. For instance, filtration is used to eliminate microorganisms and clarify and concentrate corn syrup.
• For the production of beer and spirits, many filtration activities are needed, including separation and dehydration of grains and clarifying liquids.

In The Mining Industry –

An increasingly viable and attractive alternative to tailing impoundments is the dry stack tailings in the mining industry. Filter presses provide some of the best results for this very purpose. By dehydrating "tailings" to a "dry cake," this stackable and stable form of storage is perfect for mining firms. It reduces the overall environmental footprint and gives greater operational flexibility. A filter press machine can reduce expenditure by reclaiming water utilized in the mining industry. It provides a great advantage when freshwater is scarce, and it is crucial to conserve them.

Dehydrating the tailings by using a filter press machine reduces the risk of catastrophic failures of the dam. It also reduces the requirements of land for operational purposes. Nearly all groundwater contamination is removed since a filter press machine is excellent at removing water.

There is high demand for filter presses in various industries. To name a few, we can say mining, pharmaceutical, food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, power generation, steel mills, and others. One can customize the filter press machines manufactured at NMP to meet your demands and needs. We will be there at every step of your way to provide you with the best solutions and ideas. You will get the best return on your investment when you choose filter cloth selection manufactured at NMP.