Key points
Sieving and filtration are techniques used from ancient times, where the objective is to separate two or more types of materials from a mixture based on their particle size. The concrete solidarity, chocolate production, and drug solubility are typical examples whose chemical and physical properties are affected by its particle size.
Therefore industries have to put much focus on the particle size distribution, what size particles are to be allowed and which need to be discarded. Sieving equipment not only provides similar-sized particles but also removes unwanted oversize particles and impurities. The main advantage of using a sieving or filtering solution is to produce higher quality products and in this article we discuss 3 typical technologies used for this process.
Types of Sieving Equipment:
- Circular vibratory sieves
Circular vibrating machines differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. They come in a variety of sizes with numerous accessories and modifications and work on both horizontal and vertical vibration to separate oversize and undersized material
Usually the sifter consists of a vibratory motor, screen ring, toggle clamps, lid cover, and an optional de blinding arrangement. These are some of the major components of a typical system. The vibratory motor consists of top and bottom weight which can be adjusted to get the desired vibration on the machine. The sifter can be upgraded with more than one fraction. The sieving machine can be increased to multiple decks for grading applications.
Circular vibratory sifters are competent for different kinds of screening, filtering, scalping, de-dusting, and grading applications. Sizes can range from 18” to 84” to meet the throughput capacity of the manufacturing material. Round sifters offer a higher vibration compared to traditional separators, or inline separators whose vibratory motor is attached at the sides of the sifter and inlet and outlet are in the same direction.
The round vibratory separator is highly preferable among small to large industries as it occupies a small space and low headroom areas and works with little observation with minimal manpower.
- Horizontal vibrating separator
Also known as a rectangular separator with inclined nature, horizontal vibrating separators are ideal for when throughput capacity is in large capacity and the material requires more screening area. It can easily screen wet, dry, sticky, and abrasive materials.
The linear vibrating screen is designed to deal with heavy-duty sieving operation. Machine usually consist of a dual-motor placed on the sides of the machine to generate linear vibrating motion. The size of the machine can range from 20”x40” to 50”x100”. Machine can be converted to a single or dual deck as per the requirement.
It is used in many large industries that for example manufacturer sugarcane juice, salt, sugar, grains, metals, minerals, and many more. It drastically improves the product quality of the material by separating oversize contaminants and impurities. CIP systems can also be customised with the system to ease the process.
- Centrifugal rotary sifter
Centrifugal separators do not require a vibrating motor for sifting the material. Instead, it is designed in such a way that it can sieve tonnes of the application without the vibration.
The rotary sifter consists of a rotating shaft installed inside the sifter chamber. A Mesh basket is placed around the shaft to discard undersized particles and carry on the oversized material. The material can be fed from the top of the machine using a hopper or automatic feeding arrangement. The rotating motor connected at the side of the machine rotates the shaft and the material is moved further through the mesh basket.
The rotary sifter can also be customised with the mesh de blinding arrangement to prevent the mesh basket from choking issues. The sifter is usually used with materials of very low bulk density. The sieving system is highly successful in food, pharma, metal, and chemical industries due to its dust-proof operation.
Installation Areas:
- Pre-process
The sieving system is essential for the manufacturer to achieve quality and remove impurities from its product. Many industries are receiving raw material and do not include it in the processing without initially sieving it through a sieving system.
Therefore in many industries sieving systems are installed at the start of production to screen raw material and other products which need to be included in the manufacturing.
- In process:
There are several stages in processing industries where sieving and filtering systems are installed in-between the processing line. To separate two kinds of materials which are mixed at two different stages, or to de-water, or for the de-dusting process. For example in the paint industry ceramic balls are used to reclaim required sized balls.
- Post-process
There is a huge number of industries that are using sieving systems installed at the end of the manufacturing procedure. This is the final stage in which if any impurities or lumps are introduced are removed and product quality is intact before packaging.
At this stage feeding capacity is at much higher rates. Therefore only a robust machine should be installed at this stage. Tons of material are screened through sieving equipment as the final quality check procedure.
Benefits of Sieving Machines
- Sieving machines help you to achieve a higher quality of the manufactured product.
- Quality sieving equipment can easily increase the efficiency of the screening process.
- Sieving equipment can provide higher throughput capacity.
- It allows you to automate the sieving process without much human intervention.
- The maintenance cost of an advanced separator is very low as compared to conventional sifters.
- Ultimately the profitability of the manufacturing firm is increased.
Therefore sieving equipment is a top requirement of the process manufacturer. A sieving system is not just a part of processing industries but also a discovery of automated, fast, reliable, robust, and profitable industry.
