Slurry dewatering system with planetary rotation chambers

A new dewatering system for slurry has been developed with the aim of realization of efficient mud-water treatment. In the system, centrifugal force is employed for the purpose of densification of mud and for separation of mud particles from water. In this research, an original idea has been developed for discharge of the dewatered mud. This made it possible to achieve a continuous dewatering process without the use of any filtering device. Furthermore the proposed dewatering system neither requires a high initial cost nor a high maintenance cost. Consequently, the system will achieve a higher cost performance in comparison with conventional systems. In this paper, the mechanism of the dewatering process in the new system is explained. The applicability of the system is discussed based on the results of the experiments carried out with a tri al machine on four kinds of slurry materials. In addition, a miniature centrifugal testing apparatus was used for experiments on three kinds of clays. We believe that the system will highly contribute in the improvement of our environmental conditions.