FILTRATION & THICKENING
CDE ' s new ProPress is specifically designed for the efficient dewatering of sludge in CD & E waste recycling , quarrying and mining applications
Dewatering days
The drive to more efficiently dewater – whether it be tailings , concentrates or other products in mining , remains strong as the importance of conservation and recycling of water in mining continues to be highlighted . Paul Moore looks at technology developments
While a lot of the attention in filtration in mining goes to very large vertical plate filter presses , horizontal or ‘ tower ’ type filter presses have an important role to play as well . Metso recently introduced the upgraded Larox ® PF 60 series pressure filter at the opening ceremony of the new machining unit at the company ’ s Filtration Technology Center in Lappeenranta , Finland .
The Larox PF 60 series filter is part of Metso ’ s Planet Positive offering , thanks to its advanced features that decrease water and oil usage by up to 90 % and 75 %, respectively . In addition , it can reduce the need for installed electric power by 25 %, Metso claims .
The filter has a compact and open design , which translates to less floor space required and a significant improvement in ease of maintenance . Along with the integrated hydraulic unit , this decreases the installed footprint compared to conventional external HPU . The structure has also been upgraded to meet the latest seismic standards . Metso provides a comprehensive service portfolio to ensure optimized lifelong performance , including remote support .
Jussi Venäläinen , Vice President of the Filtration business line at Metso , said : “ The new version of the Larox PF 60 series filter marks a step change in the technological development of tower filters . It significantly improves safety , process efficiency and dewatering capacity in mining and other process industry applications , thanks to its novel technological solutions . This upgraded model is fully automated to enable flexible operation for process variations and is future-ready for different plate pack configurations to provide consistent and homogenous filter cake with efficient solids wash .”
The investment into a new machining unit at the Filtration Technology Center in Lappeenranta goes hand in hand with the development of the Larox PF 60 pressure filter and Metso ’ s ambition to offer customers the best and most responsible filtration technology available , according to Tero Tiainen , Director for Filters Manufacturing at Metso . “ The highly automated machining unit significantly increases our manufacturing capacity and enables the production of highquality filter components in a safer , more environmentally friendly manner .”
Besides the manufacturing of advanced filters used in various process industries , Metso ’ s Filtration Technology Center operates a globally unique Dewatering Technology Center , which is focused on solid-liquid separation , the OEM says . Metso has carried out more than 14,000 filtration tests and delivered more than 5,000 filters for various applications worldwide .
To get more detailed insight into the new filter , IM spoke to Geoff Foster , Metso VP for Mining Filtration . “ There are a lot of improvements in the new Larox PF 60 . We made the filter more electromechanical in its operation , meaning we have been able to cut its oil usage and power
consumption significantly . We redesigned the filter to be inherently safe adhering to the latest safety standards with the advantage that the machine is more accessible for maintenance . Tower filters can be maintenance intensive if it is not done correctly , so this is also a plus . We have also given the filter more digital smarts and made the whole unit less complex and simpler to operate . We are also working with our service department to develop additional unique features that are still in the test phase and will be announced at a later date .”
Foster said the 60 in PF 60 means the units starts from 60 m 2 but it can go up to 168 m 2 . Each plate is 6 m 2 and when you expand it you put two plates in at one time ; so from 60 m 2 the next size up is 72 m 2 . Then there are also different chamber heights – 45 or 60 mm – which are match with the number and square meterage of plates to adapt to the customer ’ s process . “ To give an example , if the customer ’ s material has a very coarse particle size so is very easy to filter , we can have a very thick chamber height to achieve more production out of it . But alternatively if the customer has very fine material and is producing thin cakes , we can modify the chamber height to suit .”
Where are these horizontal type pressure filters being used in mining versus vertical plate filters ? “ We are predominantly targeting metal concentrates with Larox PF units – such as copper , zinc , PGMs , nickel and others . Then there are a lot of industrial minerals applications such as for PCC , TiO 2 – what we refer to as the white metals . The PF has one of the best ratios of cake washing , typically 1 to 3 m 3 per ton dry solids . This can be very important in nickel processing where you often have very high chloride levels due to the use of seawater . With the PF60 , the
The Larox ® PF 60 series filter is part of Metso ’ s Planet Positive offering , thanks to its advanced features that decrease water and oil usage by up to 90 % and 75 %, respectively
22 International Mining | OCTOBER 2024