Process and apparatus for the treatment of suspensions
First Claim
1. In a solid-shell screw-type conveyor centrifuge system, the centrifuge having a screw which rotates at a differential speed with respect to the shell, one of the shell and the screw being coupled to a drive mechanism and the other of the shell and screw being rotated by means of a hydraulic motor, the improvement comprising:
- means for sensing an accumulation of solid matter in conveying channels of the screw, means for comparing the sensed accumulation of solid matter with a desired optimum accumulation of solid matter, and means for controlling the differential speed between the shell and the screw in response to a signal from said comparing means such that the differential speed is increased upon an accumulation of solid matter above the desired optimum value until such time as the accumulation of solid matter returns to the desired optimum accumulation of solid matter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A process and apparatus for continuous treatment of suspensions which include solid matter difficult to decant such as solid matter tending to plasticize under temperature and/or pressure loads, solid matter having a rheopexy behavior, and solid matter having at least one of high water absorption and low specific gravity differences with respect to the liquid of the suspension. The apparatus includes a solid-shell screw-conveyor centrifuge system having a rotatable screw and rotatable shell with one of the screw and shell being driven by a drive mechanism and the other of the shell and screw being joined by a hydraulic motor. A control system is provided for controlling at least one of the differential speed between the screw and shell and the speed of the shell in dependence upon the nature of the suspension being processed.
46 Citations
39 Claims
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1. In a solid-shell screw-type conveyor centrifuge system, the centrifuge having a screw which rotates at a differential speed with respect to the shell, one of the shell and the screw being coupled to a drive mechanism and the other of the shell and screw being rotated by means of a hydraulic motor, the improvement comprising:
- means for sensing an accumulation of solid matter in conveying channels of the screw, means for comparing the sensed accumulation of solid matter with a desired optimum accumulation of solid matter, and means for controlling the differential speed between the shell and the screw in response to a signal from said comparing means such that the differential speed is increased upon an accumulation of solid matter above the desired optimum value until such time as the accumulation of solid matter returns to the desired optimum accumulation of solid matter.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. In a solid-shell screw-type conveyor centrifuge system, the centrifuge having a screw which rotates at differential speed with respect to the shell, one of the shell and the screw being coupled to a drive mechanism and the other of the shell and screw being rotated by means of a hydraulic motor, the improvement comprising:
- means for sensing a value indicative of at least one of a maximally permissible load and a solidification limit of solid matter treated in the system, means for comparing the sensed value with an optimum critical value, and means for controlling the differential speed between the shell and the screw in response to a signal from said comparing means such that the differential speed is reduced upon the value of at least one of the maximally permissible load and solidification of the solid matter increasing beyond the optimum critical value.
- View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. In a solid-shell screw-type conveyor centrifuge system, the centrifuge having a screw which rotates at a differential speed with respect to the shell, one of the shell and the screw being coupled to a drive mechanism and the other of the shell and screw being rotated by means of a hydraulic motor, the improvement comprising:
- means for controlling at least one of the differential speed between the shell and the screw and the speed of the shell, wherein the drive mechanism includes a hydraulic drive motor, said hydraulic drive motor simultaneously serving as a portion of said control means for controlling the speed of the shell.
- View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A process for the continuous separation of suspensions which have solid matter which tend to plasticize under at least one of a temperature and pressure load, the process comprising the steps of:
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supplying a suspension to a solid-shell screw-conveyor centrifuge having a screw rotatable at a differential speed with respect to a rotatable shell; and controlling the differential speed and discharge of solid matter so as to continually maintain an optimum height of accumulated solid matter throughout the entire processing of the suspension. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A process for the continuous separation of suspensions which include solids tending to solidify under load due to a conveying motion, the process comprising the steps of:
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supplying a suspension to a solid-shell screw-conveyor centrifuge having a screw rotatable at a differential speed with respect to a rotatable shell; and controlling the differential speed between the rotatable screw and rotatable shell so as to accumulate a quantity of solid matter in the centrifuge which is consistent with an optimum load exerted by a conveying motion of the screw, which optimum load lies below a critical load tending to solidify the solids in the suspension. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A process for the continuous separation of suspensions which include solids having at least one of a high water absorption and a low specific gravity difference with respect to the liquid of the suspension, the process comprising the steps of:
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supplying the suspension to a centrifuge having a rotatable screw and a shell rotatable at variable differential speeds; and controlling at least one of the differential speed and a speed of the shell so as to maximally reduce the backflow of a solid matter to be transported out of the centrifuge. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification