ABSTRACT
Filtration is widely employed in the mineral industry. Because many minerals, particularly high-tonnage minerals, are processed in aqueous solutions or suspensions, inevitably liquid-solid separation steps must be practiced on both products and tailings. Materials of construction for the mineral industry have been mild steel, stainless steel, rubber-covered steel, and molded plastic. Other exotic alloys and metals have been used for special chemical environments. The string discharge filter has been used on a few installations in the mineral industry, as in filtration and washing of leached uranium ore and dewatering of copper concentrates and fine coal. In the mineral industry the disk filter finds its widest application in dewatering of fine coal, iron ore concentrates, base metal concentrates, and alumina trihydrate seed. Five types of drum filters are normally used in the mineral industries. They are the scraper discharge drum filter, string discharge drum filter, Rroller discharge drum filter, continuous belt drum filter, and continuous vacuum precoat filter.
