Choosing between vibratory and gyratory screeners for frac sand plants

There are two types of screeners that are used in the production of frac sand: inclined vibrating screeners and gyratory screeners or sifters, according to Jeff Dierig, global marketing manager at SWECO. Most inclined vibrating screeners use a linear or elliptical motion to convey the material down the screen surface. Gyratory sifters use a more gentle sifting motion, utilizing primarily horizontal motion to convey the material.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to using an inclined screener. The first advantage is that they are relatively inexpensive. The other advantage is that inclined screeners can handle high tonnages of product. Industrial screening equipment can get rather costly, but inclined screeners will allow the processing of high amounts of material for a relatively low cost.

However, along with those advantages come some disadvantages. The first disadvantage is that inclined screeners allow for poor spreading of material as it is fed to the screen. Inclined screens do not have any side-to-side motion. Thus, when material is dropped onto the screen it tends to run in a straight line down the length of the screen. Consequently these machines often require the use of a separate feeding device that spreads the material so that it can be dropped into a full width inlet. This feeder adds cost, complexity, and vertical height to the overall height of the machine. Without the spreader, the material won’t spread properly and much of the screen surface area may be underutilized. Additionally, the screens will wear out much quicker in the highly used areas, resulting in early screen failure.

The other disadvantage to inclined screeners is that they produce inaccurate separations.

Gyratory sifters have a tendency to be more expensive than your typical inclined screener, and they have lower throughput in the same basic footprint as compared to inclined screeners. However, gyratory sifters are more efficient, producing cleaner, more accurate cuts. Additionally, the gyratory motion of the sifter tends to spread the material out on the screen for more effective use of the screen area.

https://www.powderbulksolids.com/article%5CHow-to-Screen-Frac-Sand-08-22-2014