Plate and Frame Filter Press Equipment Introduction
A plate and frame filter press is a widely used solid-liquid separation device. It is mainly composed of filter plates, filter frames and filter cloths. Through mechanical extrusion, it completely separates solid particles from liquid in suspension.
The equipment features high filtration pressure, excellent dewatering effect, clear filtrate and high automation. It is widely applied in Wastewater treatment, chemical industry, food, pharmaceutical, metallurgy, coal and other fields, serving as the core equipment for sludge reduction and resource utilization.
According to different transmission modes, it can be divided into manual type, mechanically compacted type and hydraulically compacted type. Among them, the hydraulic compacted type has become the mainstream choice due to high pressure and high efficiency.
Working Principle of Plate and Frame Filter Press
The working process consists of three core stages: feeding filtration, pressing dewatering and plate pulling & sludge discharging, with clear principle, high efficiency and stable performance.
Feeding Filtration (Initial Filtration Stage)
The pump presses solid-containing suspension such as sludge and ore pulp into the filter chamber formed by filter plates and frames through the feed inlet. As the filter medium, the filter cloth intercepts solid particles while liquid passes through and drains out, forming filter cakes. Preliminary solid-liquid separation is realized and filter cakes gradually thicken.
Pressing Dewatering (Deep Dewatering Stage)
After feeding, the hydraulic system or mechanical device compresses filter plates and applies high pressure of 0.6–1.6 MPa to filter cakes inside the chamber. Strong pressure squeezes out free water and capillary water inside filter cakes, reducing moisture content from over 80% to 40%–60%. Diaphragm pressing technology can further enhance dewatering effect to achieve ultra-low moisture content.
Plate Pulling & Sludge Discharging (Unloading Stage)
After dewatering, filter plates are loosened and pulled open sequentially by the plate pulling device. Filter cakes fall off the filter cloth under gravity into the receiving hopper or belt conveyor to complete unloading. The filter cloth can be cleaned automatically or manually for recycling.
Advantages of Plate and Frame Filter Press
• Excellent dewatering effect: High pressing pressure ensures low filter cake moisture content and greatly reduced volume, facilitating subsequent sludge disposal such as incineration, landfilling and fertilizer production.
• High filtration efficiency: Compact arrangement of filter plates and frames provides large filtration area and strong single-unit processing capacity, meeting high-flow solid-liquid separation demands.
• Clear filtrate with low solid content: Precise filter cloth aperture ensures good interception effect and extremely low suspended solids in filtrate, which can be directly recycled or discharged up to standard, lowering subsequent treatment costs.
• High automation: Equipped with PLC control system to realize automatic feeding, pressing, plate pulling and cleaning, simple operation and unattended running.
• Solid structure & long service life: Main body adopts anti-corrosion carbon steel and 304/316L stainless steel with corrosion and wear resistance, ensuring a service life of 15–20 years.
• Easy operation and maintenance: Simple structure with few parts and fault points, low daily maintenance cost and convenient replacement of wearing parts such as filter cloth.
• Wide application range: Adaptable to various complex suspensions with high viscosity, high solid content and corrosivity, strong universality and customizable production.
• Low investment and operating cost: Compared with other dewatering equipment such as belt filter presses and centrifuges, it features low energy consumption, fewer consumables and low maintenance cost, economical for long-term operation.
Application Fields of Plate and Frame Filter Press
1. Wastewater Treatment Industry (Core Application)
Municipal Wastewater: Residual sludge dewatering and reduction treatment in Wastewater treatment plants.
Industrial Wastewater: Sludge dewatering in printing and dyeing, chemical, electroplating, papermaking, food processing and other industries.
River and lake silt: Dewatering and drying for dredging disposal.
2. Chemical Industry
Filtration of chemical raw materials, catalyst recovery, solid-liquid separation of acid, alkali and salt solutions.
Filtration and dewatering of paints, coatings, dyes and pesticide intermediates.
3. Food and Beverage Industry
Clarification and filtration of fruit juice, wine and beer; separation of fruit residue and yeast.
Filtration and purification of starch, sugar liquid and edible oil.
4. Pharmaceutical Industry
Filtration of drug crystals, solid-liquid separation of traditional Chinese medicine extracts and antibiotic purification.
Stainless steel equipment meeting GMP standards with hygienic design.
5. Metallurgy and Mining Industry
Dewatering of ore pulp and tailings; filtration and separation of metal smelting slag.
Tailings wastewater treatment and valuable metal recovery.
6. Other Fields
Coal industry: Slime dewatering.
Construction industry: Construction mud dewatering.
Environmental solid waste: Dewatering of kitchen waste and livestock manure.
Process Flow of Plate and Frame Filter Press
As terminal solid-liquid separation equipment, the plate and frame filter press is usually installed at the end of Wastewater treatment or technological processes. The typical process flow is as follows:
Plate and Frame Filter Press Process Flow Chart
Raw Water → Pretreatment (Grille / Regulation / Coagulation) → Dosing Reaction → Plate and Frame Filter Press → Filter Cake (External Disposal) → Filtrate (Recycle / Discharge Up to Standard)
Detailed Process Steps
Pretreatment: Remove large impurities, balance water quality and quantity, add PAC/PAM to form flocs and prepare for filter pressing.
Feeding: Sludge pump presses coagulated sludge into the filter chamber.
Filtration: Filter cloth intercepts sludge and filtrate drains out.
Pressing: High-pressure dewatering to reduce filter cake moisture content.
Discharging: Plate pulling and sludge unloading for filter cake collection.
Cleaning: Filter cloth backwashing or manual cleaning to restore filtration performance.
Xi'an DIEN Water Treatment specializes in the production of plate and frame filter presses. With years of engineering experience, we provide one-stop services including design, production, installation, commissioning and after-sales support. Our equipment features high compliance rate, stable operation, reasonable price and comprehensive after-sales service, serving thousands of enterprises nationwide. Welcome to visit Xi'an DIEN Water Treatment Official Website for free scheme design, quotation, water quality testing and site survey services.
