OJECTIVES:

To be give a definite description of screening.

To enumerate the different kinds of machines used in screening.
To know the various applications of screening machines in the industry.

I. SCREENING

Is a method of separating a particles according to size alone.

In industrial screening, the solids are dropped on, or thrown against, a
screening surface. The undersize, or fines, pass through the screen openings;
oversize, or tails , do not.
A single screen can make but a single separation into two fractions. These are
called unsized fractions, because although either the upper or lower of the
particle sizes they contain is known, the other limit is unknown .
Materials passed through a series of screens of different sizes is separated
into size fractions. (fractions in which both maximum and minimum particle
sizes are known. Screening is occasionally done wet but more commonly dry.

II. SCREENING TERMINOLOGY:

Undersize : Fines or minus (-) material, material passing through a given

screen.
Oversize : Tails or plus (+) material, material retained on a given screen.
Screen aperture : The space between the wires of the screen mesh, Screens
are sometimes denoted by mesh number (number of wires per inch) . In this
case aperture actually depends on the wire diameter, but for standard screens,
wire size in specified.
Mesh is often used in determining the particle-size distribution of a granular
material.
Industrial screens is made up of woven wire, silk or plastic cloth, metal bars,
perforated or slotted metal plates, or wires that are wedge- shaped in cross
section. Various metals are used, with steel and stainless steel the most
common. Standard screens range in mesh size from 4 mesh 400 mesh, and
woven metal screens with openings as small as 1m are commercially available.
Screens finer than about 150 mesh are not commonly used.

a.

c.

Figure 1. a.) stainless steel b.) silk or plastic cloth c.) metal bars
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_screening#/media/File:Woven_wire_mesh.png
FIGURE
2. (a) gyrations in horizontal plane; (b) gyrations in vertical plane ; (c) gyrations
at one end, shaking at other; (c) shaking ; (e) mechanically vibrated ; (f) electrically
vibrated.
Source: Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering. Warren L. McCabe, Julian C. Smith,
th

III. Types of Screen Media

A. Woven Wire Cloth

Woven wire cloth, typically produced from stainless steel, is commonly
employed as a filtration medium for sieving in a wide range of industries.
B. Perforated & Punch Plate
On a crushing and screening plant, punch plates or perforated plates are
mostly used on scalper vibrating screens, after raw products pass on grizzly
bars. Most likely installed on a tensioned deck, punch plates offer excellent
wear life for high-impact and high material flow applications.
C. Synthetic screen media (typically rubber or polyurethane)
Synthetic screen media is used where wear life is an issue. Large producers
such as mines or huge quarries use them to reduce the frequency of having
to stop the plant for screen deck maintenance.

III. SCREENING EQUIPMENTS

A. STATIONARY SCREENS AND GRIZZLIES

A grizzly is a grid of parallel metal bars set in an inclined stationary frame.

The slope and the path of the material are usually parallel to the length of the
bars. Very coarse feed, as from a primary crushers, falls on the upper end of
the grid. Large chunks roll and slide to the tails discharge; small lumps falls
through to a separate collector.

cross section the top of each bar is wider than the bottom, so that the bars
can be made fairly deep for strength without being choked by lumps passing
pathway through. The spacing between the bars is 2 to 8 in. (50 to 200mm).

Stationary inclined woven-metal screens operate in the same way,

separating particles to 4 in.(12 to 100mm) in size. They are effective only
with very course free- flowing solids containing few fine particles.

B.

Figure 3. STATIONARY SCREENS

Source: Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering. Warren L.
McCabe, Julian C. Smith, Peter Harriott. 6th Edition.Mcgraw-hill
International Editions, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
Series. SCREENS
GRATING

A heavy duty gyrating screen. Two screens, one above the other, are held in a
casing inclined at an angle between 16 and 30 with the horizontal.

The feed mixture is dropped on the upper screen near its highest point.
Casing and screens are gyrated in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis by
an eccentric that is set halfway between the feedpoint and the discharge.

The rate of gyration is between 600 and 1800 r/min. Oversize particles fall
from the lower ends of the screens into collecting duct; fines pass through the
bottom screen into a discharge chute.
Finer screens are usually gyrated at the feed end in the horizontal plane. The
discharge ends reciprocates but does not gyrate. This combination of motions

stratifies the feed, so that fine particles travel downward to the screen
surface, where they are pushed through by the larger particles on top.

Figure 4. Heavy-Duty vertically gyrated screen;

Source: https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=grating+screens

Figure 5. Electrically vibrated screen

Source: Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering. Warren L.
McCabe, Julian C. Smith, Peter Harriott. 6th Edition.Mcgraw-hill
International Editions, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Series.

Often the screening surface is double, and between the two screens are
rubber balls held in
FIGURE 4compartments.
. (a) Heavy-Duty
gyrated
screen;
b) electrically
separate
As vertically
the screen
operates,
the (balls
strikes thevibrated
screen
screen.and free the openings of any material that tends to plug them.
surface
Dry, hard, rounded or cubical grains ordinarily pass without trouble through
screens, even fine screens; but elongated, sticky, flacky,soft particles do not.
Under the screening action such particles may became wedged into the
openings and prevent other particles from passing through. A screen plugged
with solid particles is said to be blinded.\

C. VIBRATING SCREEN

Screens that are rapidly vibrated with small amplitude are less likely to blind
than are gyrating screens. The vibrations may be generated mechanically or

electrically . mechanical vibrations are usually transmitted from high speed

eccentrics to the casing of the unit and from there to steeply inclined screens.
Electrical vibrations from heavy-duty solenoids are transmitted to casing or
directly to the screens

Figure 6. Vibrating Screen

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_screening

D. CENTRIFUGAL SIFTER

In these machines, the screen is a horizontal cylinder of woven metal or

plastic. High speed helical paddleson a central shaft impel the solids against
the inside of the stationary screen; fines pass through , and oversize
conveyed to the discharged.

Plastic stretched a little during operations, and the resulting minute changes
in the dimensions of the openings tend to prevent clogging or blinding. In
some designs brushes attached to the paddles assist the centrifugal action in
pushing solids through screen.

Figure 7. Centrifugal Sifter

Source: http://www.kason.com/Centrifugal-ScreenersSeparators/

IV. Factors affecting the efficiency of a screening system:

1. Rate of Feeding : If the rate is too high, there is insufficient residence time.
The screen becomes overloaded, and some fines leave with the oversize.
2. Particle size : Large particles can impede the path of smaller ones, and a
preliminary separations may be required if a high portion of large particles
are present.
3. Moisture : Moisture can cause adhesion of small particles to larger ones, so
some undersome leave with the oversize.
4. Worn or damaged screens : Oversize may fall through damaged areas.
5. Blinding (Clogging) of screens : Particularly likely when the size of particles is
very close to the screen aperture. Result can be undersize leaving with the
oversize.
6. Electrostatic Charge : when screening dry powders, surfaces can become
charged, resulting in a small particles clumping together and leaving with the
oversize. Grounding of screens may be necessary.

V. Trivia

A spider (simplified Chinese: traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: zhol) is a type

of skimmer used in Asian and Dutch cooking in the form of a wide shallow
wire-mesh basket with a long handle, used for removing hot food from a
liquid or skimming foam off when making broths. The name is derived from
the wire pattern, which looks like a spider's web.
Self-cleaning screen media was initially engineered to resolve screen cloth
blinding, clogging and pegging problems.

VI. References.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_(utensil)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_screening
http://www.kason.com/Centrifugal-Screeners-Separators/
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering. Warren L. McCabe, Julian C. Smith, Peter Harriott.
6th Edition.Mcgraw-hill International Editions, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_Operations_of_Chemical_Engineering
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh

http://encyclopedia.che.engin.umich.edu/Pages/SeparationsMechanical/Screeners/Screeners.html

UNIT
OPERATIONS 1
Genina Joy A. Fusi

SCREENING
ChE-3202

Engr. Neres Ann Manguiat

Instructor