Vibrating Screens

SMART DOG MINING
It takes a smart dog to find hidden treasures
VIBRATING SCREENS
This article is meant to be used with and as a backup to the information found in the SDM
Screen spreadsheet found at (http://www.smartdogmining.com/tools/Software/default.html)
Vibrating screens are primarily classification devices, used for separating a feed stream
into two or more products of different size ranges. They are also used for dewatering
clean coal and refuse products from cleaning processes, and for media recover
following dense medium separation. If they are used to remove excess of water and
fines from a feed stream prior to cleaning they are often referred to as desliming
screens. The general nomenclature and definition of screens whether they are used for
classification or dewatering is essentially the same.
Clean coal and refuse from a wet cleaning device is usually accompanied by large
volumes of water which must be removed from the coal. At the same time, the coal is
often separated into various size ranges for subsequent crushing or further dewatering
action.
Coarse coal may be sized and dewatered on the same screen. Coarse coal to be
dewatered can either be presized before cleaning or can contain all the fines. If it is
presized, with the fine coal removed it can be dewatered at openings ranging from 0.5
mm to 6 mm, depending upon the market requirements of the coal, unless it is
necessary to remove the fine coal caused by degradation in the process. Fine coal is
not usually sized since the main purpose of the screen is to retain the coal solids while
removing water.
Dewatering screen selection is based on handling a bed depth thin enough to be freedraining. The depth of coal is a function of the size of coal being dewatered. The
smaller the average particle size, the more difficult it is to drain and the thinner the bed
must be. The presence of fine coal particles tends to fill up the voids and hold the
water. Dewatering screens are usually 3.5 M (12 ft.) or longer depending upon the
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VIBRATING SCREENS
dewatering efficiency required and the size distribution of the coal being dewatered.
Bed depth is normally considered to be no more than three times the largest particle
size as a maximum.
When dewatering fine coal (12 mm or 6 mm x 0), sizing is not important. The purpose
of the screen is to retain the coal solids while removing the water. The openings in the
screen surface are usually small (0.25 mm to 0.5 mm) and it is necessary to provide
sufficient screen area to pass the water. In order to obtain satisfactory screen surface
life, practice is to use profile wire screen surface.
Because of the tendency of fine coal to pack, stratify, or form a blanket or cake, better
dewatering can be obtained if the bed is periodically disturbed. In order to mix up the
bed of coal, cross-dams are usually used, which forces the coal to climb over the dam
and makes the bed more porous permitting the free drainage of water. Many operators
use spray water to break-up the bed of coal or a combination of dams and sprays may
be used.
If there is a large amount of free water with the feed coal, a stationary sieve or sieve
bend ahead of the screen may be used to reduce the water. The capacity of fine coal
dewatering screens is influenced by the amount of water with the feed. If the amount of
water is too great, the high entrance velocity will cause the coal to flush-down the deck
reducing the available area for the watering. Under these conditions, the surface
moisture of the dewatered product will be high and under extreme conditions, free water
will be discharged with the coal. In order to prevent this, the amount of water admitted
to the feed must be limited.
The use of dense medium in cleaning coal is based on the difference in specific gravity
between the coal and its impurities. A suspension of finely ground media (usually
magnetite) and water with the specific gravity maintained at a point between the specific
gravity of the coal and the refuse is used. Media is expensive and it is desirable to
recover the maximum amount possible and to recirculate it inside the circuit. Following
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VIBRATING SCREENS
the dense medium process, the clean coal and refuse products are handled separately
to remove the water and recover the media.
A media recovery screen has two sections, a drain and a rinse section. The first portion
of the screen drains the media from the stream and returns it back to the system. The
second portion washes and then dewaters the coal, or refuse. Drain and rinse screens
commonly have two compartments underneath them; the first portion the drain, and the
second portion the rinse product. The drain portion returns directly to the dense
medium circuitry, often times through a control system to help maintain the gravity. The
rinse portion goes to dilute media for media recovery. In order to perform these
operations, long screens, often 5 M (16 ft.) or longer, are usually selected. The drain
section is usually the first 1 to 1.5 M (3 to 4 ft.) at the feed end of the screen. Following
the drain section, material is washed using spray water and the media recovered.
Media recovery screens are selected on the same basis as others, using the depth of
bed that can be successfully drained and rinsed. In general the finer the coal, the more
difficult to drain and the thinner the bed must be.
To reduce the moisture in a fine refuse product, recovery screens are often used to
partially dewater the material before disposal. This water is then reused or discarded,
as necessary.
Equipment Sizing
Raw Coal/Desliming Screens Raw and desliming screens are sized on the basis of
product through the screen deck or the overflow discharged over the screen deck.
Spray or rinse water is added for maximum efficiency in desliming. The underflow
should at least be 10% solids.
Dense medium Drain and Rinse Screens Screen capacity for drain and rinse screens is
specified in regard to feed capacity, based on average grain size. Rinse water is added
in two locations, one immediately following the drain section, and the second half way
along the rinse section. Rinse water normally comes from two sources; partly fresh and
VIBRATING SCREENS
partly as recirculated water from the dilute media recovery circuit. At finer average grain
sizes the rinse water should be increased. For minimum magnetite loss higher flow
rates of fresh water are preferred. A general excepted factor of 2% degradation in
particle size in a dense medium vessel circuit is excepted.
Clean Coal Dewatering Screens Clean coal dewatering screens are sized in a similar
manner to raw coal and dense medium drain and rinse screens. Sufficient spray water
should be added to bring the underflow concentration up to 10% by weight solids.
Refuse Dewatering Refuse dewatering screens will be sized similar to dense medium
cyclone drain and rinse screens.
Calculations for other vibrating screen sizing can be done using the SDM Screen
spreadsheet found at (http://www.smartdogmining.com/tools/Software/default.html)
Performance
Screen performance is very intimately related to sizing and has been covered in the
previous section.
Screen efficiency for raw coal is commonly taken at 80 to 85% of the near size material.
Following desliming stage overall efficiency should be on the order of 95%. The
moisture content of the deslimed coal will be in the range of 16 to 20% by weight. A
value of 15% could be used to be optimistic with a 18% being a good plant design
factor.
A general accepted factor of 2% degradation in particle size in a dense medium vessel

circuit is used. Media carry-over from drain to rinse section can be 2-5% of media fed to
screen.
Experience has shown that coal can have a degradation of 6% and the refuse can have
up to 2% degradation. Media carry-over can reach 5-10%.
VIBRATING SCREENS
In as much as the refuse and fine clays are removed the product surface, moisture will
be lower than from raw coal screening. It is commonly expected that + 38 mm (1-1/2")
dewatered clean coal will have a moisture content of 3 to 5% by weight. 38 mm by 12
mm (1 1/2" by 1/2") coal will have a surface moisture of 5 to 7%, and 12 mm x 6 mm
(1/2" by 1/4") coal with surface moisture of 15%.
Calculations for other screen performance for alternative configurations can be done using
the SDM Screen spreadsheet found at
(http://www.smartdogmining.com/tools/Software/default.html)
VIBRATING SCREENS

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A general accepted factor of 2% degradation in particle size in a dense medium vessel

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