Challenge
Kelly Filter
The production of Alumina from Bauxite is the first step in aluminium production and manufacturing. Kelly Filters—and vertical leaf filters—are an important part of the solution set used in Alumina Refineries’ filtration processes under high pressure and temperatures.
An Australian Alumina Refinery approached us to see if there was a way to improve its important Kelly Filter operation and bag handling. The Alumina Refinery had increased the green liquor alumina-to-caustic (A/C) ratio to improve production yield. This, unfortunately, led to an increase in scale formation during clarification. Scale built up with each filtration cycle, eventually causing a reduction in the filter media permeability to the point where the set point liquor flow could no longer be sufficiently maintained.
The Alumina Refinery was looking to reduce the scale build-up, especially where the filter was attached to the filter frame. They were looking for a solution to increase filtration equipment uptime and improve worker safety.
Solution
Our outstanding technical team worked with the on-site engineer to trial the newly constructed SOLAFT® Kelly Filters. After a successful trial, the new Kelly Filter was put into total production.
The benefits of our custom SOLAFT® Kelly Filters solution to the Alumina refinery included:
- 10-20% increase in filter life
- Up to 10% increase in equipment uptime
- Considerable improvement in worker safety
Our SOLAFT® Kelly Filters solution was a success in this Alumina Refinery application, providing the needed increase in equipment uptime and improved worker safety.
Around the globe, you can rely on the Micronics Engineered Filtration Group to be your trusted source for solving Liquid Filtration and dry filtration challenges.
