Tefsa Unveils New Filter Press System


Shown here is a Tefsa PEH-1500/12 filter press equipped with 135 plates,
installed at a facility in Tarragona, Spain.
Tefsa, an international designer and manufacturer of industrial dewatering and filtration equipment, recently introduced its new High-Yield FPO filter press line to the North American mining market. A combination overhead and sidebar unit, the PFO uses the advantages of both configurations with plates hung overhead and hydraulic sidepulling cylinders on all four corners to deliver the highest possible yields and cycles.

Grup Tefsa, based in Barcelona, Spain, began designing and fabricating liquidsolid separation and filtration equipment 40 years ago. Currently, Tefsa produces and supplies more than 35 different products including sidebar filter presses (plate sizes up to 1,500 x 1,500 mm with manual, semi- or fully automatic control), overhead filter presses (plate sizes up to 2,000 x 2,000 mm, with semi- or fully automatic control), belt filter presses (in 0.5 through 3 m belt widths), and vacuum filters.

The PFO system, according to the company, was specifically designed for minerals and mining applications such as copper, zinc and lead concentrates, industrial minerals, coal and coal tailings, and offers several state-of-the-art features, including:

• Oversized inlet and hydraulic frames linked by side tension rods supporting the pressure piece and plate pack.
• Automatic programmable control for all wash, squeeze and discharge functions.
• Sealed recessed and membrane plates in corrosion resistant polypropylene with outer feeding and filtrate ports.
• Top center inlet feed and four corner port discharge.
• Weight cells for exact production control.
• Cake and core blowing before plate opening and cake discharge.
• Mixed membrane-recessed plates for reduced cycle time and maximum cake dryness, press capacity and production.
•Wash system with high pressure nozzles on every plate to simultaneously wash the entire plate pack at every discharge.
• Added filter cloth transfer system in the wash stage to ensure that cloth surfaces are particle free and ready to operate the next cycle under perfect conditions.
• Hydraulic double door drip trays under the plate pack to collect drippings and wash water.

Available in four models, (see table below) offering a range of plate sizes up to 2,000 x 2,000 mm and feed pressures up to 60 bar, the PFO filter press can be configured for customer specifications. Tefsa says it is also adaptable for future plate pack expansions, often with minimal changeover.

Tefsa’s U.S. business group, Tefsa- USA, also announced that it had been awarded a contract for filter presses, filter feed and transfer pumping equipment for the Inkai joint venture in situ leach project in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The project is owned and operated by JVI, which includes Cameco Corp. (60%) and the National Atomic Co. of Kazakhstan (40%) which is owned by the Kazakh government.

Located in a remote area of south central Kazakhstan, the Inkai project is a fullscale ISL mine and mill with capacity to produce 5.2 million lb of U308 annually. Currently under construction, production is expected to begin in late 2007 ramping up to full production in 2010.

Two Tefsa automatic overhead PEH filter presses will be installed at Inkai for filtration and washing of yellowcake solids at the uranium processing plant. Tefsa also is providing end suction centrifugal pumps for raw water transfer, cooling water recycle pumps, potable water transfer pumps, seal water circulating pumps and fire protection water pumps. Centrifugal, engineered thermoplastic polypropylene, PVC and stainless steel pumps were ordered for process water pumping and for pumping of reagent chemicals, as well as vertical centrifugal cantilevered style sump pumps to be installed in sumps around the facility for a variety of different dilute chemical solutions.