ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS/PROBLEMS

1. What is the significance of screening?

The significance of screening is to remove coarse materials from the flow stream
that could:
• damage subsequent process equipment
• reduce overall treatment process reliability and effectiveness
• contaminate waterways
Screening is very significant in many industries such as in Industrial wastewater
treatment where greater removals of solids are required to protect process
equipment or eliminate unwanted materials. It is also use to prevent damage and
clogging of downstream equipment, piping and appurtenances [ CITATION DrK16 \l
13321 ].

2. Give examples of industries in which screening is very useful.

Ceramics Industry
Ceramics can be found in structural products, whitewares, and even microchips
and automotive components. This industry is continually growing and evolving to
adapt to its end users’ needs. Particle size separation is a vital step to ensure
quality and purity of the finished product [ CITATION Mid15 \l 13321 ].

Mining and Mineral processing Industry

This industry uses screening for a variety of processing applications. For
example, after mining the minerals, the material is transported to a primary
crusher. Before crushing large boulder are scalped on a shaker with 0.25 in (6.4
mm) thick shielding screening. Further downstream after crushing the material
can pass through screens with openings or slots that continue to become
smaller. Finally, screening is used to make a final separation to produce saleable
products based on a grade or a size range [ CITATION Mid15 \l 13321 ].

Aggregate Industry
Responsible for moving nearly three billion tons of sand, stone, and gravel per
year, the aggregate industry depends on rugged, dependable shaker and
screening equipment to supply its end users with quality material meeting
specific particle size requirements [ CITATION Mid15 \l 13321 ].

Powdered Metals Industry

Due to new advancements in metal powders, equipment, and processes, powder
metal suppliers are developing new materials and achieving higher densities and
improved properties. As a critical first step in manufacturing PM goods, the
 screening of fine powders with ultrasonic technology has greatly increased
[ CITATION Mid15 \l 13321 ].

Laundry Industry
With EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and social concerns growing, the
demand for products to remove particles from wastewater (parts per million) are
greater than ever. By screening wastewater and removing its contaminants,
laundries reduce or eliminate costly pit cleaning; additionally, they may pump the
water to a heat exchanger [ CITATION Mid15 \l 13321 ].

3. Differentiate aperture, mesh number and screen interval.

Aperture
Aperture width is the distance between two adjacent warp or weft wires,
measured in the projected plane at the mid positions. The number of apertures
per unit length (n) is the number of apertures counted in a row one behind the
other for a given unit length. The unit length may be 1cm, 1dm, 1in, or any other
unit of length; however, the number of apertures with a length of 25.4mm is
designated as “Mesh” [ CITATION WST20 \l 13321 ].

Mesh number is a measure of fineness of a mesh: the numerical value indicates

the number of openings per linear inch. The smaller the mesh number, the larger
particles can pass through the mesh [ CITATION WST20 \l 13321 ].

Screen interval is the number of revolutions the screens or screen deck takes in
a time interval, such as revolution per minute [ CITATION WST20 \l 13321 ].

CONCLUSION

In this experiment, screening was used to separate the particles of 100 grams
crushed chalk from large particles into uniform particle sizes. The sieve shaker consist
of different screen meshes number; 8, 14, 25, 35 and 50. It took 21 trials before the
mass of the pan and chalk became constant. Mesh 8 has the largest amount of chalk. It
was observed that as the aperture decreases, the amount of chalk in each mesh also
decreases. This concludes that only few particles were crushed finely. Plotting the data
between the sizes of the articles versus the mass fraction shows a bell shaped curve. It
means that there is no linear relationship between them. The inaccuracy of the data is
due to the insufficient cleanliness of the screens.
RECOMMENDATION

In order to avoid inaccurate data, the screens must be clean thoroughly to

remove crushed chalk particles left by the other group who performed the same
experiment. This is to avoid unwanted accumulation in the sieve. Also, the shaker must
be locked properly to avoid them from moving away during the screening process. The
area around the digital scale balance should be clean to get accurate readings. The use
of brush is very helpful in cleaning the area and wiping the crushed chalk leftovers in the
screens.

REFERENCES:

Midwestern Industries, Inc. (2015). Industries Served/ Applications. Retrieved February

4, 2020, from https://midwesternind.com/screening-industries/

W.S Tyler. (2020). Terminology and Measurement Methods. Retrieved February 4,

2020, from https://wstyler.com/square-opening-wire-mesh/terminology-
measurement-methods/

Zaher, D. K. (2016, March 22). Physical Unit Operations. Retrieved February 4, 2020,
from https://scholar.cu.edu.eg/khaledzaher/files/4.physical_unit_operation_2.pdf