What is a filter press؟
A filter press is a device that is used to purify or separate solids from liquids, such as removing impurities and suspended solids from sewage; Therefore, the main purpose of using the filter press in active industries in the country is the purification and filtration of suspensions and industrial slurries.
This device is designed and manufactured due to the unique and functional components embedded in it, which are designed and produced solely to increase accuracy and achieve the highest quality in the industrial purification process, the ability to improve the speed of purification of the slurry produced in industries and as a result It will save energy and raw materials and ultimately improve the productivity of production lines.
3 important applications of filter press
Before the invention of the filter press device, industries used beds called drying sludge beds to treat wastewater or slurry produced in industrial units; But in the current years, when technological companies have produced new and very practical filter press devices, these devices have replaced expensive sludge drying beds.
Using a filter press, factory and industrial managers can easily treat industrial waste while returning clean water to their system. The filter press can be used in various industries active in the country, from wastewater treatment to food and textile industries, electroplating, heavy metals, refining and petrochemical industries, etc.
If we want to name three of the most used cases of the filter press in the industries, we can mention its wide use in the water and sewage industry for wastewater treatment, the use of the filter press in the petrochemical industry to filter industrial oils, and its use in food factories. let’s point out
The physical structure of the filter press
The physical structure of the filter press
Jack and hydraulic unit: the filter press electromotor, hydraulic pump and valve, and device hoses are placed in this section.
Chassis: The chassis of the filter press includes the filter inlet and outlet, the device plates and its arms. This part is produced from a kind of stainless metal and its resistance is so strong that it protects the plates and internal components of the device against the pressures that are applied from the side of the hydraulic jack to compress the slurry.
Frame: The frame forming the different surfaces of the filter press body is usually made of resistant plastic, aluminum or cast iron.
Plates: Filter press plates, which play an essential role in the filtration process, are made of steel, aluminum, cast iron or plastics such as polypropylene and polyamide.
Filtration cloth: The filter press plates are covered by a cloth with a certain material such as polyester or linen cloths and cause the solids mixed in the slurry to be trapped on the plates.
Side components of the device: The electronic control panel of the device and the electrical panel related to it, which are used to turn the device on and off, are also considered as part of the side structure of the filter press device.
Filter press and how the device works
Now, let’s see how this practical device works, which, in addition to making the filtration and purification cycle more economical in industries, also improves the speed and quality of these processes. The function of the filter press system is as follows:
First step: In the first step, slurry enters the machine to start the filtration process. This slurry contains a mixture of liquids and suspended fine and coarse particles, which must be separated from each other.
Second step: In the next step, the slurry entered into the filter press should be pressurized so that the slurry is pressed towards the chambers and plates of the machine and in this way its liquids are pushed out of the plates.
Third step: In the third step, air is sent into the chamber with a certain pressure to separate the remaining water and leave solid materials. The solid materials that remain compressed in the chamber and between the filter press plates are called cakes, and the final cakes will have a moisture content of about 19-25%.
Step 4: In this step, it is necessary to separate the formed cake from the filter press using the distance between the plates of the machine.
Fifth step: In the last step, they prepare it for the next use by washing the device through the flow of water.
filter press; Types and applications
The filter press machine has different types depending on the industrial activity and the application that can be expected from it. In general, this device has three main types of manual, hydraulic and automatic filter press.
Manual filter press
In the manual filter press, the movement of the machine plates is done manually by the operator in order to apply pressure on the slurry. Also, the application of cake discharge and final filtration is done manually. Due to the low price and limited speed of this type of filtration, it is usually used for applications where the volume of slurry required for purification and filtration is small.
Hydraulic filter press
Hydraulic types are the most widely used types of filter presses used in industries. The filtration operation in the hydraulic device is performed without the intervention of the operator and by the pressure of the hydraulic pump. Of course, the cake unloading step can also be done by the operator.
In fact, these devices can be semi-automatic. In this type of filter press devices, uniform pressure is applied on the plates of the device, and this causes the resulting cake to have very low humidity, and in clearer words, the purification process is performed more successfully.
Automatic filter press
In the automatic filter press, all steps from the beginning to the end of purification are done automatically without any human intervention. Therefore, the speed and accuracy of the work is very high and the quality of the purification process is impressive compared to the other two types.
A system called the vibration system is installed in some automatic types, which causes that after the completion of the filtration process and cake formation, when the plates of the filter press are separated, the vibration system starts to work to remove the remaining cakes between the plates. are also separated and in this way the accuracy of the purification process is maximized and the filter press is cleaned and prepared for the next purification cycle in a fully automatic manner.
One of the important advantages of using an automatic filter press is cost-effective filtration and greater security of the purification work in order to use the most up-to-date security technologies in this device.