Advantages of Using Dewatering Screens in Mineral Processing

Mike Canarelli — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 22:56:20 +0000

In mineral processing, efficiency and sustainability are crucial. Dewatering screens, which remove excess water from mineral slurry, significantly improve processing speed, reduce operational costs, and enhance product quality.

Whether you’re optimizing current operations or exploring new solutions, dewatering screens offer essential benefits for modern mineral processing.

What is Mineral Processing?

Mineral processing involves isolating minerals from ores through physical and chemical methods. The process involves crushing, grinding, sizing, classifying,

concentrating, and dewatering. The goal is to produce products suitable for commercial, industrial, and other uses.

Solid-liquid separation, which extracts mineral-rich ores and fines (small particles of valuable minerals) from water, is a key component of mineral processing. It’s considered a critical step as it:

Separates valuable minerals from the gangue (material without any commercial value) and other ore impurities, thereby improving ore concentration
Eliminates impurities to produce final products of superior quality and composition

The isolated minerals are then processed in the next stage known as dewatering. This step focuses on removing the moisture content of the minerals to achieve the desired concentration levels before the products hit the market. The dewatering process uses mineral processing equipment, such as dewatering screens.

Dewatering Screens and Their Applications

A dewatering screen comprises a sturdy frame and a screen with openings for the liquid to pass through. Featuring a vibrating mechanism, it efficiently segregates solids from liquids. To optimize effectiveness, the speed of rotation, the angle of inclination, and other components of the machine are adjusted based on the properties of the feed material.

From mineral and ore processing to construction and waste management, dewatering screens demonstrate versatility in handling different materials, particle sizes, and moisture levels. They are available in customizable options to cater to specific operational needs.

The Benefits of Using Dewatering Screens

Dewatering screens are integral in industries requiring solid-liquid separation. They provide several benefits, including:

Enhanced product quality: Moisture significantly impacts the usability of minerals. By minimizing moisture content through dewatering screens, industries can improve the overall quality of end-products and simplify their handling and transport procedures.
Increased efficiency and throughput: Compared to traditional methods, these machines can handle high volumes of material, thus boosting overall efficiency, throughput, and productivity.
Cost savings: Dewatering screens generally have lower energy consumption compared to other equipment, like filter presses and centrifuges, contributing to reduced production costs.
Minimal environmental footprint: These machines minimize the ecological impact of industrial operations by promoting water recycling, decreasing the volume of wastewater needing treatment, and ensuring compliance with environmental standards.

Learn more about sustainable mining practices.

The Ortner: A Multi-Functional Solution for Mineral Dewatering and Classification

The Ortner is an efficient solution for dewatering various minerals and ores. Lightweight and compact, it can easily be transported and installed. In addition, it provides greater capacity, efficiency, and flexibility as it allows for various adjustments to meet different sand specifications properties.

The Ortner is not only designed for dewatering but also for removing fines, classifying, and rinsing sand and other fine materials, making it an all-in-one and cost-effective machine. Compared with other dewatering and classifying equipment, it boasts less power and water consumption and requires minimal maintenance, offering substantial cost savings.

To learn more about the operational benefits of the Ortner, contact us today.

The post Advantages of Using Dewatering Screens in Mineral Processing appeared first on AEI Screens.

It’s a Dirty Job… The BIVITEC® Screen in Coal

Mike Canarelli — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 12:15:19 +0000

Coal is difficult to screen. The specifications are tight, the material is wet, tonnages are high, and down time is not an option when you need to continuously feed a power plant. The BIVITEC® screen is ideally suited for these conditions and is currently being used across the Coal Belt as the go-to equipment for separating fine material without using water.

The very first BIVITEC® screen in America was in waste coal. If run-of-mine coal is difficult to screen, waste coal (gob, culm) is downright nasty. A mixture of coal, silt, clay, and soil, typical waste clay is mined from abandoned settling ponds at closed mines. This material may have been sitting in place for 40 years or more and every truckload of material has slightly different physical characteristics, from gradation and ash content to moisture and BTU value. Conventional wire cloth decks aren’t made to handle this kind of variability, and routinely have to be shut down to clear the decks which have quickly become blinded over.

Learn more about the BIVITEC® Screen and how it can benefit your operation

Benefits of the BIVITEC® in Coal Screening

The unique action of the BIVITEC® screening deck eliminates blinding by accelerating the coal particles up to 50G’s. This not only keeps the openings free from pegging, but also helps to break up the clumps of waste coal, liberating the fines and allowing them to fall through the screen openings.

The cost savings of eliminating water from the screening deck cannot be overstated. Coal processors get a bonus when using dry screens, in that the final coal product is sent to a boiler furnace. The lower the moisture level of the coal fuel, the more BTU’s can be extracted from the coal. Energy is not wasted burning off water, making for a big spike in boiler efficiency.

Arch Coal in Colorado, Foster Wheeler in Pennsylvania, Sunnyside Cogeneration in Utah, and many others use multiple BIVITEC® screens to process high tonnages of coal 24/7, keeping the power plants up and running year-round and ensuring that your house has heat and the lights stay on.

Interested in the BIVITEC® for screening coal? Request a product quote from Aggregates Equipment, Inc.

The post It’s a Dirty Job… The BIVITEC® Screen in Coal appeared first on AEI Screens.