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Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

Selecting the right type of filtration equipment to use in liquid and solid separation is its own kind of sleuthing.

With such a wide range of equipment available, and only several basic principles of solid/liquid separation (pressure, vacuum and centrifugation), there are many considerations to weigh in determining the best, most cost effective, and efficient choice for a given situation.

Making this choice also requires you to be extra careful when working with suppliers who only offer one type of filtration equipment. The solution they offer may be “made” to work, but may not necessarily be the smartest choice.

No matter what, you’re going to need to carry out your own basic evaluations of possible or probable solutions and to establish which routes not to follow.

Where to begin?

There are several factors to consider before determining the best starting point:

  • Batch or Continuous Process 
  • Quantity:  Amount of slurry / liquids / solids to be filtered
  • Type of discharge: dry solids, wet solids, or concentrated slurry
  • Operation:  Automatic or manual
  • Product:  solid or liquid or both
  • Review the entire upstream and downstream process:  reactor cycle time, crystal sizing/breakage, solids handling, drying time, and other parameters.

Having gathered all of this information, the engineer is now in a position to get started. Yes, that’s right, get started. But this challenge is part of what makes process engineering fun every day, right?

We also have to find pleasure in the fact that the filtration equipment market is always evolving. As the world’s population grows, there’s increased need cleaner energy, improved water & food and advanced health care, all of which require us to continually improve filtration and separation technology.

This new blog aims to help by being forward-thinking about trends in the filtration market space, innovation, and business leadership. Let me know what you think!