Larox Pressure Filters in Filtration and Washing of Non-Ferrous Minerals Concentrates and Metallurgical Slurries

Abstract

Automatic pressure filter with horizontally positioned filtration chambers and one endless filter cloth was first introduced in the late 1960s. Actual product development and process adaptation was done during the 1970s. During the next decade this type of dewatering equipment established a firm position in a wide range of applications in mining, metallurgical, and chemical industries worldwide. More than 320 of these first generation LAROX PF filters are in operation in many types of dewatering applications. The maximum unit size has been 35 m2. In many cases, particularly in mining applications, the size of one unit has not been enough. For large production capacities in mining and mineral processing LAROX introduced in 1992 the big PF filter with maximum filtering area up to 144 m2, the second generation PF filter. The big 144 has 24 filter plates (filter chambers) and all mechanical operations are performed hydraulicaly. The normal size PF filters (below 38 m2) are also available with hydraulic operation devices. The second generation PF and big PF filters considerably increase the application range of this type of dewatering equipment. There are many processes in the mining, mineral and metallurgical industries, where improved efficiency in the solid/liquid separation would help achieve significant savings in energy consumption, affluent treatment costs, capital cost by simplifying the process, operation costs and especially labor costs. In most cases the efficiency can be improved by replacing the existing solid/liquid separation process with pressure filtration.