Information about belt press, sludge, rollers, filtration, de-watering, separation, waste treatment, biological waste ...

Belts that Squeeze

By Thomas Yoon

Belts have many uses in the running of equipment. The most common belts are used to transmit power from a prime mover (usually a motor) to another rotating machine.

Have you heard of belts used for removing water from sludge?

Yes, there is a type of equipment used in wastewater treatment that uses belts to remove water from sludge. It's called a belt press.

This is how it works:

There are two continuously running belts made of woven polyester material in the belt press. There are many freely rotating rollers where the belts pass over.

The belts are typically about 2 feet wide, depending on the design. There is an upper belt, and a lower belt. The arrangement of the belts and their travel on the rollers is made in such a way that at some point along the route, they will be placed tightly against one another. The pressing together of these belts squeezes out the water from the sludge.

In order to work, the lower belt is passed through a tank containing a mixture of sludge in water. As the belt travels through the sludge-laden water, some of the sludge gets stuck on the upper surface of the belt, and is carried along with it.

The two belts are then stretched against each other along their path, and the water is squeezed through the weave of the polyester belt material. The semi-solid sludge still sticking to the belts is then scrapped off when the belts pass through plastic knife-edges held against them.

The semi-solid sludge that is scrapped off is collected at a hopper and conveyor system where they can be collected in bags or further dried.

Simple isn't it? Not really! The two belts must travel at the same speed and there must be some way to ensure that the belts do not drift away from their intended path....

Until next time…

Back to Tech Marketing Ezine Articles Page
Subscribe to Tech Marketing Ezine