Dewatering and homogenizing apparatus

An apparatus for dewatering and homogenizing a pulp suspension and comprising a screen drum having inlet and outlet ends and tapering from the inlet end to the outlet end, a rotative shaft extending through the drum and beyond both ends of the drum, means for enclosing the drum radially throughout its length while leaving its outlet end axially open around the shaft, plug-forming means surrounding the shaft at the drum's outlet end and movable towards and from the outlet end, the shaft having screw-flights of helicoid shape inside of the drum and radially tapering from the drum's inlet to its outlet end, for forcing pulp when fed to its inlet end against the plug-forming means, means for forming a chamber having a fluid inlet and an outlet, the chamber fluid-tightly enclosing the drum's outlet and plug-forming means, the adjacent end of the shaft extending through the chamber and having a journaled end on the outside of the chamber and free from the chamber's inside, and means inside of the chamber and extending radially from the plug-forming means and forming backward extending tension members extending backwardly through the chamber to its outside and externally of said screen drum for receiving backward-pulling force applied on the chamber's outside for biasing the plug-forming means towards the drum's outlet end.