Strength
One of the biggest differences between regular filter press cloths and tower press filter cloths is strength. As described above, the tower press filter cloth also works as a belt. It has to be strong enough to carry heavy cakes out from the filter and withstand being pressed deep into the supporting grids, over and over again.
The strength of the filter cloth also affects its tracking. If the fabric is not strong enough, it can deform over time and cause tracking problems. Eventually, this can lead to premature filter cloth damage.
To showcase how strong are the tower press filter cloths, let’s look at an example. The production of big tower press filters in mining concentrate applications is often 20 tonnes per cycle. On average, the filter cloth is in use for 6000 cycles. This means that during its lifetime, a filter cloth discharges 120 million kilos!
Air permeability – how to choose the most optimal filter cloth?
The mining industry’s milling technology keeps improving and is reaching better and better ore recovery. Consequently, the particle size has decreased and nowadays filter cloths tend to blind too early. In lots of applications using a cloth with higher air permeability can solve this issue.
But take extreme care when deciding upon air permeability. Using a filter cloth with too high permeability can cause more solids will appear in the filtrate which can lead to tears, holes and overall loss of cloth’s mechanical strength.
Choosing the optimal filter cloth for each application is important because it can:
- Increase filter’s capacity
- Reduce blinding problems
- Shorten the tower press filter cycles
Roxia filtration test team provides you with all the data to make an informed decision for the best long-term solution.
Cloth blinding
How to know when is the filter cloth blinding? One of the most common signs are:
- Thinner filter cake
- Wetter filter cake
- Increased cycle time
With use, every tower press filter cloth will eventually start to blind. But since the filter cloth is an expensive and essential part of the tower press, it should not happen too early! To avoid blinding problems, start at the beginning with the correct filter cloth selection. Other factors which affect the blinding are particle size distribution of the slurry and chemical changes in the process.
Roxia can help you select the correct cloth to avoid such issues. We offer laboratory services for used cloths where we perform a full analysis and give professional recommendations for the most suitable filter press cloths for each process. Our experts assist in eliminating your process challenges and find better solutions.
Filter cloth quality
The quality of a tower press filter cloth is directly connected to the consistency of its air permeability. It must be equal at every point of the cloth, even in the largest sizes (148 m long and 1,7 m wide).
Ensuring equal air permeability is related to quality control, specific for the tower press filter cloth manufacturing process. This is a demanding job but Roxia understands the importance of high quality and eliminating possibilities of weaving errors. All our tower press filter cloths are manufactured with the latest technology textile industry machinery with integrated quality check procedures.