PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE DEWATERING OF SUSPENSIONS

摘要

The addition of polymeric flocculant or other chemical dewatering modifier to a suspension flowing through a service line (1) to a dewatering plant is controlled automatically in response to automatic determination of a filtration rate parameter. This may be determined using novel apparatus which includes a filtration assembly (5) comprising a chamber (7) with a filter element (4) mounted across its open end and water sprays (9) for washing the filter element. In one embodiment it is preferred to assist back-washing with an air purge (13) while in another embodiment there are means (31, 36) for disassembling the filtration assembly to permit cleaning.