Materials handling and treatment

Abstract

A belt filter apparatus for treating material to separate solid and liquid components comprises an endless belt structure adapted to circulate around a path incorporating guide roller structures around which the belt structure passes. The endless belt structure comprises an elongate belt portion of water permeable material, and has two opposed longitudinal edges. A zipper releasably connects the two longitudinal edges together to form a tubular structure with a flexible sidewall. The circulating path includes an assembly zone where the longitudinal edges are brought together and connected by the zipper to form the tubular structure, and a disassembly zone at which the zipper is released to separate the longitudinal edges and open the tubular structure. Means are provided for compressing a portion of the tubular structure to express liquid from the material contained in the tubular structure. The liquid discharges from the tubular structure through the water permeable belt portion.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 to U.S. application Ser. No. 14 / 149,155 by the inventors, filed Jan. 7, 2014 and pending, which in turn claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 12 / 304,811 by the inventors, filed May 19, 2009, now abandoned; the entire contents of each application are hereby incorporated herein.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]Example embodiments in general related to an apparatus for performing an operation on a material, and also to a method of treating a material using the apparatus.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]It is known to use belt filter presses for separating liquids from solid suspensions. Such filters can be employed in the treatment of sewage for dewatering purposes. Typically, a belt filter comprises two tensioned endless belts circulating around guide rollers with a pressure zone defined between the two belts. In addition to the pr...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes a device that compresses a tubular structure to treat the material inside. This compression can be caused by the tube structure being bent around rollers or from tension on the belt and the material being pushed together. The compression helps to squeeze water out of the material being dried. This technology improves the treatment of materials in tubular structures.

Problems solved by technology

Even so, in operation, the spread of the sludge is not uniform across the belt and the entire belt is generally not used.

Also there is a degree of spatter associated with the spreading of the sludge onto the belt and thus the process can be somewhat messy.

A particular problem with such belt filter presses is the difficulty in ensuring that the belts track correctly around the guide rollers, particularly at the region of the pressure zone where the belts co-operate to press the material undergoing treatment.

However, it is limited in its applications to small capacity as it sags between the holding / compaction rollers which can result in stretching of the belts if over loaded.

Further, it does not allow for a high hydrostatic pressure head as the liquid can only be filled to the top of the “V” bolt.

The presence of folds, creases or wrinkles can be problematic in relation to uniform compression of the confined material.

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