Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Screens separate particles on the basis of size. Their main application is in grading raw

materials and products into size ranges, but they are also used for the removal of trash (over- and

undersized contaminants) and for dewatering. Industrial screening equipment is used over a wide

range of particle sizes, from fine powders to large rocks. For small particles, woven cloth or wire

screens are used; and for larger sizes, perforated metal plates or grids. Screen sizes are defined in

two ways namely; (1) by a mesh size number for small sizes and (2) by the actual size of opening

in the screen for the larger sizes (Sinnott & Towler, 2008).

There are several different standards in use for mesh size, and it is important to quote the

particular standard used when specifying particle size ranges by mesh size. In the United States,

the appropriate ASTM Standards used is ASTM E11, which is true for this experiment as

specified in chapter 2 – the design part. While in UK, the appropriate British Standards should be

used; BS 410 and BS 1796. A comparison of the various international standard sieve mesh sizes

is given in Richardson et al. (2002).

Dynamic screening equipment can be categorized according to the type of motion used to

shake up and transport the material on the screen. The principal types used in the chemical

process industries are as follows: Vibrating screens, Oscillating screens, Reciprocating screens,

Shifting screens, and Revolving screens (Sinnott & Towler, 2005). In this experiment, the

equipment used can be categorized under shifting screens where it is operated with a circular

motion in the plane of the screening surface. The screen of this type is used for dry or wet

screening of fine powders and the actual motion can be perceived during the research.
 The figure below can be used to select the type of screening equipment likely to be

suitable for a particular size range. Equipment selection will normally be based on laboratory and

pilot scale screening tests.

From figure 1.1, there are also factors that needs to be considered and the information

that would be required in choosing the suitable and appropriate screening equipment which

comprises of (1) Rate, (2) Size range, (3) Characteristics of the material such as free-flowing or
Figure 1.1 Screen Selection by particle size range
sticky, bulk density and abrasiveness, (4) Hazards like flammability, toxicity and dust explosion,
Source: Sinnott, R.K., & Towler, G. (2008). Chemical Engineering
and (5) Wet or dry screeningDesign.
to be used (Sinnott
New York, & Towler,
Elsevier, Inc. 2008).

Screening may be carried out with either wet or dry material. In wet screening, material is

washed evenly over the screen and clogging is prevented. In addition, small particles are washed

off the surface of large ones. This has the obvious disadvantage, however, that it may be

necessary to dry the material afterwards. With dry screening, the material is sometimes brushed

lightly over the screen so as to form a thin even sheet. It is important that any agitation is not so

vigorous that size reduction occurs, because screens are usually quite fragile and easily damaged
by rough treatment. In general, the larger and the more abrasive the solids, the more robust is the

screen required (Backhurst, Harker, & Richardson, 2002).

The efficiency of screening is defined as the ratio of the mass of material which passes

the screen to that which is capable of passing. This will differ according to the size of the

material. It may be assumed that the rate of passage of particles of a given size through the

screen is proportional to the number or mass of particles of that size on the screen at any instant.

Thus, if w is the mass of particles of a particle size on the screen at a time t, then:

d𝑤
= −𝑘𝑤 (Equation 1.1)
d𝑡

For this study, the researchers sought to calculate for the mass fraction of each screen

mesh starting from eight (8) to fifty (50) as differentiated from the set-up diagram in Chapter 2.

The general equation used can be represented as in 1.2. Furthermore, equation 1.3 is needed to

determine the values for aperture, both in units of centimetre and micrometer. Note that the data

can be directly obtain from the equipment used for mesh number and screen opening.

𝑀𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑠ℎ

𝑋𝑖 = (Equation 1.2)
𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔

1 = Mesh number (Aperture + Screen Opening) (Equation 1.3)

The significance of this experiment was to separate a mixture of a fine powder made of

chalk material into uniform particle size through a process known as screening. This study was

also done to characterize the sample by determining the specific surface, particle population, and

average particle size of a sample mixture with the aid of the different equations such as 1.2 and

1.3.