Automatic drip trays – sometimes known as “Bomb Bay Door” drip trays – can be a very useful option for highly efficient, automated filter press dewatering operations.

The Automated Drip Trays function in a variety of important ways:

• Collect any dripping filtrate during the feed cycle to prevent drips from reaching the cake conveyors or filter cake dumpsters.
• Capture filtrate residue when the filter closing pressure is initially released, prior to filter cake discharge.
• Allow high pressure wand cleaning of the cloth and/or plate, discharging the cleaning liquor to a trough via the bomb bay doors.
• Retain wash water generated from the automatic cloth washing equipment and prevent it from creating a wetter filter cake. When an automatic cloth washing system is being utilized – as is common with many of today’s filter presses – it is generally helpful for the automated drip trays/bomb bay doors to capture the water coming from the cloth washing to prevent it from going to the filter cake.

When the drip trays are in the open position, they act as a chute for filter cake discharge.

When the drip trays are in the closed position, this keeps the filter cake that is below the press as dry as possible.

The PLC-controlled filter press can operate the drip trays automatically, as shown in the programmable control panel pictured. A manual override can be utilized for cleaning.

The doors are mounted horizontally and direct the filtrate flow to a trough at one side of the filter press. An inclined trough runs the length of the filter press, collecting and directing the filtrate to a discharge location/connection specified by the customer. Automatic drip trays are typically stainless steel although Micronics has the ability to customize the materials of construction to meet customers’ needs such as utilizing polypropylene and fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP).

Contact us to learn more about our automatic drip trays (and manual drip trays for manual filter presses) and full range of filter press options to help optimize your filter press operation and achieve your production objectives.

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Micronics, Inc. is pleased to announce that it will be participating with Ishigaki in MINEXPO 2016, which will be taking place in Las Vegas on September 26 – 28, 2016. Stay tuned for more information on our participation, and be sure to come visit us at Booth #29813 in the South Hall. Please Contact Us if you would like to arrange to get together with our team during the exposition.

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Micronics, Inc. offers a wide selection of filter press plates which – together with proper filter cloth selection and filter press specifications – can provide optimized dewatering for a variety of industries and applications. When faster filter press cycle time is desired, the choice of filter plates can play an important role.

Filter packs can be configured in a variety of ways including full recessed packs as well as full membrane squeeze packs consisting solely of membrane filter plates. Membrane filter plates – also known as diaphragm filter plates – feature flexible drainage surfaces with a chamber below the drainage surface that may be inflated to exert additional pressure on the filter cake. Water pressure is the commonly used method for inflation, and the pressure is generated by pumping water into the squeeze cavity to inflate the face of the filter plate against the filter cake. Compressed air may also be used for the squeezing although working with water is typically a safer alternative.

Membrane plates usually operate at a feed pressure of up to 7 bar and squeeze pressure up to 15 bar. Special plates can be designed to accept higher feed and squeeze pressures.

Membrane Filter Plates Advantages:

• Dryer Filter Cake
• Faster Cycle Times
• Efficient Cake Washing
• Increased Production Rates

Overhead cornerfeed mix pack replaceable membrane

Mixed pack membrane filter plates are a configuration in which one recessed (chamber) filter plate is alternated with one membrane plate in the filter press plate pack. Use of these mixed packs – where the diaphragm (membrane squeeze) plates alternate with the recessed plates – not only delivers reduced cake moisture because of the added squeeze but also cost-savings in overall plate pack costs vs. the full membrane squeeze pack design. In most applications, the same process improvements can be realized with a “mixed pack” membrane filter plate system at 30-40% lower costs as compared to an all membrane plate system.

Mix pack replaceable membrane plates

Two types of membrane squeeze plate designs are typically used, fixed membranes and replaceable membranes. With the replaceable membrane, only the membrane bladder is changed not the full plate. There are also other design options including either center feed or corner feed. Micronics’ filtration specialists can work on selection of just the right filter plate materials of construction and configuration for your particular application and for your production goals.

Mix pack fixed membrane center feed plates design

Contact us to discuss whether mixed pack membrane filter plates and associated options such as membrane squeeze water skids are suitable for your installation.

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Most dewatering operations – including those in the mining and mineral processing, coal, aggregates, cement, and asphalt, and chemical manufacturing industries – are looking for ways to reduce operating and maintenance expenses. A key tool for reducing transportation and disposal costs in filter press operations can be found via achieving drier filter cake solids.

Let’s start with some simple definitions. “Dewatering” is a physical method for reducing the water content from sludge. “Filter Cake” is the compacted solid or semisolid remaining after the pressure filtration dewatering process.

Micronics is an expert in dewatering and all aspects of liquid/solid separation. Beyond supply of advanced filtration equipment, Micronics can assist you in identifying areas that will contribute to increased cake dryness and, consequently, help you reduce operating and maintenance (O&M) costs.

Some of the areas we explore with clients include; proper selection of the filter cloth media for your slurry and operating conditions, proper selection of the filter plates, and adjusting process variable such as cycle time, cake thickness and feed pressure to achieve your objectives. Today’s filter presses – such as the automated sidebar and overhead beam presses – offer many more options for achieving much drier filter cakes and reducing operating expenses than ever before. With assistance from filtration experts, you can truly maximize your filtration equipment investment and O&M costs.

Here are just a few factors to consider as you seek to reduce expenses for transporting filter cake.

Rod suspension makes for easy filter cloth change-out in this mining operation.

Filter Cloth
If your plate is dropping wet, slimy, sticky cakes, it is likely that your filter cloths need cleaning or changing.

In addition to proper cloth cleaning and maintenance, proper filter cloth selection is key to cost-effective dewatering operations including forming a drier cake. Cleaning with an automatic cloth washing system can help prolong the lifetime and performance of the filter cloth, helping to ensure drier cakes.

Recessed Cloth with Velcro and Rubber Neck

Caulked and Gasketed Filter Cloth

Filter Plates
Use of membrane (diaphragm) filter plates is one method for literally squeezing extra moisture from the filter cake, thus yielding a drier cake before being discharged from the filter press. We discussed the use of membrane squeeze plates and membrane mixed packs in a recent blog post. Whether you are using recessed chamber filter plates or membrane filter plates, Micronics recommends on-site pilot testing to determine what cake moistures are achievable for your operation.

Automatic Drip Trays
Automated bomb bay door drip trays play an important role in creating a drier filter cake in modern automated filter press dewatering operations. For instance, when an automated cloth washing system is being utilized, in their closed position, the bomb bay door trip trays protect the discharged filter cake from the cloth washing liquids.

Air Blow
Air blowing is a post-filtration step – prior to cake discharge – that is useful for removal of residual filtrate from the filter cake and for improving both cake dryness as well as loosening the filter cake for improved cake release.

Contact us to review filter cloth, plate, and equipment selection to optimize your filter press dewatering operations and reduce O&M expenses for areas such as transporting filter cake. We will help you squeeze out more from your dewatering operations.

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Filter cloths are a key ingredient to optimizing your filter press operation.

Getting the most from the cloth in your filter press operation begins, of course, with ensuring that the filter cloth utilized is the correct choice of material for your operating conditions. Micronics’ experts can help with filter cloth material selection recommendations and troubleshooting. We will help to optimize the cloth characteristics including material, yarn fibers and weave, pore size, fabric finishing, feed neck design, and other factors to match your process.

Filter cloth life is shortened by mechanical damage which may be caused by chemical attack, mechanical abrasion, or both. Cloth life is also shortened when the material being filtered clogs or blinds the filter cloths, impacting porosity and no longer allowing the filtrate to properly flow.

There are many factors affecting cloth performance including:

• Application
• Material being filtered and the nature of the slurry, e.g. whether the particles in the slurry are coarse or dense
• Operating conditions
• Effectiveness of cake discharge mechanisms
• How frequently and effectively you are cleaning your filter cloth

Even filter cloth that is the correct design for your operating conditions will eventually have to be replaced. Timeframes can vary significantly depending upon the aforementioned factors.

This filter cloth showing poor cake release is in need of replacement

In contrast, this filter cloth has no cake residue

Some telltale signs that your filter cloth may need replacing include:

• Your filtration cycle times are getting longer
• Your filter cake has become progressively wetter and sloppier and is insufficiently dry/solid
• You see impurities in the filtrate, i.e. the filtrate is no longer clear
• You see holes in the filter cloth

Remember that when using a filter press for liquid-solid separation, your filter cloths are the key, front line, ingredient for an effective, efficient dewatering operation. Contact us so that we may assist you in selecting the right filter cloths for your operating conditions to optimize cloth life. We will help you with speedy and correct filter cloth replacement from our extensive inventory of standard and custom materials suited to your markets and applications. Micronics is here to help you operate your filter press at peak efficiency.

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Customers are frequently asking us how they can optimize the performance and lifetime of their filter press cloth. As we have covered in a recent blog post, it is important – first and foremost – to ensure that the filter cloth being utilized is the correct choice of material, yarn fibers, weave, and finishing for your set of operating conditions. Micronics’ filtration experts can assist with optimal filter cloth selection.

Micronics’ Automatic Cloth Washing System helps extend filter cloth life and may be used with both sidebar and overhead bean presses.

Proper cloth cleaning is an important tool for extending cloth life and optimizing filter press performance. Many dewatering operations rely on manual cloth washing though this is typically inferior to use of a highly-reliable automatic, high pressure cloth washing system. Consistently washing the filter cloths at regular intervals has many performance benefits including improved cloth porosity, better cake discharge, drier cakes, longer cloth life, and optimized cycle time.

Micronics’ automatic cloth washing system may be installed on both overhead filter presses and sidebar models and PLC logic controls allow for both automatic plate movement and cloth washing without the need for operator intervention.

As is shown in this cloth washing video, Micronics’ cloth washing system employs fewer moving parts than other washer models on the market. Fewer moving parts mean less opportunity for system downtime. In addition, all parts in “the wash zone” are made of stainless steel and UHME-PE for durability and reliability. Our automatic cloth washing system is equipped with 34 nozzles that spray all the way to the edges of the filter plates so as to optimize the expedient removal of the filter cake.

To help with achieving a drier filter cake, use of automatic bomb bay drip trays facilitates the protection of the discharged filter cake from the cloth washing liquid.

Contact us and talk with our filtration experts to learn more about whether an automatic filter cloth washing system is an appropriate option to improve filter press operations and extend your filter cloth life.

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CGR filter plate made of polypropylene has a special piped surface to protect the filter cloth, provide excellent filter cloth support and ensure excellent filtration.

CGR has become common lingo in the filter press world. The term “CGR” refers to a caulked, gasketed, and recessed filter plate. In contrast “NG” refers to a non-gasketed filter plate.

There are a number of key advantages in using a CGR filter plate:

• Excellent sealing to allow for a virtually leak-free operation
• Made of polypropylene which offers excellent chemical/corrosion resistance, resistance to high temperatures, and ability to handle high pressure and flow
• Has a special pipped surface to protect the filter cloth and ensure excellent filtration
• Long life

This polypropylene mono/multi satin weave filter cloth (Style 807) is commonly used for metal hydroxide applications and is shown here on a 630 mm CGR filter plate.

As shown here, the CGR filter cloth is shaped like an octagon and is caulked into a groove located around the outer edge of the plate recess. We offer CGR filter cloths to fit a variety of plate sizes from 470 mm to 1500 mm. Markets for CGR cloth/plates include chemical manufacturing, mining, industrial, municipal waste, and food & beverage. Micronics offers latex sealing as a finishing option to further ensure leak-free operations, particularly with larger plates, 1000 mmm and larger.

Though non-gasketed cloth is probably faster and somewhat simpler to install on the non-gasketed plates, use of the CGR allows for a virtually leak-free operation with no dripping, thus contributing to drier cakes. With a CGR plate, the plate seals against the next plate, creating a seal that prevents any wicking.

This caulked, gasketed & recessed (CGR) plate stack is shown on an air/oil filter press with pneumatic shifter. The filter cloth material is a polypropylene, high thread count cloth typically used for applications with a very fine slurry.

CGR filter cloth is installed in grooves within the plate. Groove widths are typically between 1/4” and 3/8” wide. Groves containing an O-Ring around the sealing edge and filtrate holes form a tight seal when the plate pack is closed. Micronics offers assistance with CGR cloth installation and using the recommended Micronics Model AH-1 Air Hammer makes cloth installation simple and limits arm fatigue for press operators. The air hammer is palm sized, safe and lightweight at only 2 lbs.

Our filtration experts are happy to assist you in selecting the appropriate cloth/plate for your filter press, whatever the make/model. Contact us to learn more about our expertise in optimizing your dewatering operations.

The post What Are the Benefits of a CGR vs. Non CGR Filter Plate For Dewatering Operations? appeared first on Micronics, Inc.

Hydraulic power units, or HPUs as they are commonly known, are an important part of filter press operations. Frankly, there is among nothing more frustrating than not being able to operate your filter press – including automatic hydraulic shifters, drip trays and cloth washers – than having an HPU that is having operational challenges. Every piece of equipment and part is critical to an efficient, cost-effective filter press operation.

Depending upon the size of your particular filter press, Micronics offers both Electro/Hydraulic Power Packs as well as Air-Over-Oil Hydraulic Power Packs. We address everything from 630 mm presses to 1500 mm+ presses across a range of demanding dewatering applications including chemical manufacturing, industrial, mining, power generation, and food/beverage.

Micronics is pleased to assist you with retrofits to your existing filter press, whatever the size, make or model. We can supply replacement hydraulic power units –either standard, pre-engineered or custom – for virtually any filter press brand, not just Micronics’ own filter presses. All units are provided with full exploded-view assembly drawings and hydraulic schematics so you don’t have to second-guess any of the details.

Of course, we also supply the industry-leading filter cloths, filter plates, and all the other filter press components and accessories you need for a successful filter press operation including the HPUs. And we will satisfy your needs in a timely fashion as we know that time is money when it comes to maximizing your filter press capital investment and increasing up-time.

Here is a small sampling of Micronics’ HPUs but, of course we recognize that each dewatering situation is different and may require a different customized solution.

Standard Hydraulic Power Unit, perfect for retrofitting to many makes and models of filter presses.

Air-over-Oil HPU consists of low-pressure hydraulic components, high-pressure hydraulic components and pneumatic components.

HPU retrofit for another filter press brand.

Custom, convenient, skid-mounted Hydraulic Power Unit and controls.

The post The Hydraulic Power Unit on My Filter Press is Down, Now What? appeared first on Micronics, Inc.

Plate shifters are an essential part of a filter press operation, of course in conjunction with appropriate filter cloth and filter plate selection – size, type, arrangement – for your specific application. Micronics offers three types of plate shifters: hydraulic; pneumatic (semi-automatic); and manual.

A key advantage of the hydraulically-driven shifter system is that it is automatic, thus eliminating the need for operator intervention during plate separation or shifting. This may be particularly attractive if there are multiple filter presses at your site.

Micronics’ robust automatic, hydraulically-driven plate shifter system may be retrofitted to virtually any make or model of filter press – whether Micronics or another filter press manufacturer – as is shown here at this edible oils installation. Contact Micronics to explore whether a retrofit hydraulic shifter is a good fit for your filter press operation.

Hydraulically-driven plate shifter systems are available from Micronics for installation on virtually any make or model of filter press, whether an overhead or side-bar design.

These self-contained units may be installed either using a customer’s existing PLC control and power pack, or the hydraulic shifter may be purchased along with a replacement power pack and/or PLC control. The choice is yours.

Hydraulic Power Units (HPUs) can be sized to run only the shifter system or sized to run the filter press, the shifter, and any ancillary systems such as automatic drip trays and automatic cloth washing systems. You can learn more about our HPU retrofits in a recent blog post.

To learn more about the operation of our hydraulic plate shifter systems, view the short video here.

Contact us so that we may assist you with a replacement hydraulic shifter system for your filter press’s efficient operation. Or ask us about our pneumatic, semi-automatic shifter systems.

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Micronics’ patented, high-performance welded feed neck design – dubbed “HPR” – is a superior filter cloth design feature for use on recessed filter plates. It is beneficial for many demanding applications including frac sand, oil, mining slurries, metal hydroxides, and many highly abrasive slurries. There are numerous benefits of the HPR filter cloth product. Here... Read more »

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Plate shifting is an essential part of a filter press operation. Micronics offers a range of plate shifter options including automatic, hydraulic plate shifters and pneumatic, semi-automatic plate shifters. While a hydraulically-driven shifter system eliminates the need for operator intervention during plate separation, there are some circumstances in which you may want the operator involvement... Read more »

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Around Micronics, we always say that proper filter cloth selection is one of the key ingredients – if not the key ingredient – to achieving excellent filter press performance. Having said that, even the best filter cloth needs regular cleaning to maintain excellent filtration performance and ensure that the filter press is working optimally. Cloth,... Read more »

The post Is Chemical Cleaning Effective for Cleaning My Filter Cloth? appeared first on Micronics, Inc.

When it comes to efficient, trouble-free dewatering operations, the details matter from the right filter cloth to the right filter plates to the press itself to your preventative maintenance schedule. Micronics offers you a comprehensive range of filter plate types – both standard, stock plates and special, custom designs – and the expertise to help... Read more »

The post How Do I Know What Filter Plates Are Right for My Filter Press Operation? appeared first on Micronics, Inc.

Micronics is an expert in all things related to dewatering and that includes filter cloth, filter plates, filter presses, preventative maintenance, spare parts, and application-specific expertise. Every week, we are providing customers with answers to a host of application-specific questions from the right cloth specs for metal finishing slurries to handling challenging mining applications to... Read more »

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Did you know that the Micronics Engineered Filtration Group is the exclusive North and South American distributor of the LASTA MC filter press, manufactured by Ishigaki? “MC” stands for mineral concentrate and the LASTA MC is a high capacity, fully automatic, horizontal filter press that is reliable, very durable and well suited to harsh, extreme... Read more »

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PORTSMOUTH, NH – May 23, 2017 – Micronics Filtration Holdings, Inc. announced today that Bernard C. “Bernie” Faulkner has been appointed President and CEO of the Micronics Engineered Filtration Group which consists of leading wet and dry filtration companies: Micronics, Inc., Southern Filter Media, C.P. Environmental, United Process Control, and the assets of AeroPulse. Prior... Read more »

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Did you know that the Micronics Engineered Filtration Group is a provider of both wet and dry filtration equipment and service solutions to the aggregates and allied-industries including asphalt and cement production? On the liquid filtration side, we are often referred to as the “pressure filtration experts” and Micronics offers a range of filter plate... Read more »

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Micronics Engineered Filtration offers a full-range of standard and custom filter presses for your applications, large and small. For smaller-scale applications (1-20 cubic feet) that require operation without attendance, Micronics offers its rollbar filter. The rollbar filter is fully automatic and provides for a low-maintenance operation with PLC control. On completion of its filtration cycle,... Read more »

The post Is the Rollbar Filter Press Right for Your Smaller-Scale Filtration Application? appeared first on Micronics, Inc.

You have no doubt heard the terms plate and frame, overhead beam, and sidebar filter presses in conjunction with liquid/solid pressure filtration equipment. But you may not be aware of so-called “Vacuum Filter Presses.” Vacuum filter presses are really short-hand for “vacuum-assisted filter presses” which use special, high heat transfer (HHT) vacuum membrane filter plates... Read more »

The post Benefits of Vacuum-Assisted Filtration in Creating Exceptionally Dry Filter Cakes appeared first on Micronics, Inc.

Micronics is proud to be an enabler of filtration solutions that celebrate color. For sure, color is central to what the eyes take delight in and dyes and pigments are the substances that can impart such colors to a material. (Fun fact: Did you know that male cardinals and other magnificent birds have these gorgeous,... Read more »

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