Apparatus for continuously separating solid and liquid fractions of a mixture of solid and liquid fractions

Apparatus for continuously filtering a mixture of a liquid fraction and a solid fraction, comprising a mixture-containing vessel;

• a driven elongated rotary carrier mounted in said vessel;
• a plurality of neighboring filters provided on and rotatable with said carrier and spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of said carrier, each of said filters having at least one foraminous wall which intercepts the solid fraction but is permeable to the liquid fraction and at least one internal chamber for the liquid fraction adjacent said at least one wall;
• means for evacuating the liquid fraction from said chambers and for establishing a pressure differential between the mixture in said vessel and said chambers so that the liquid fraction of the mixture flows through said walls into the respective chambers and the solid fraction is intercepted by said walls;
• and means for removing the intercepted solid fraction from said walls, including a plurality of stationary receptacles in said vessel, at least one for each of said walls and each having an internal compartment for the solid fraction, means for at least partially sealing the compartment from the mixture in said vessel and means for directing the intercepted solid fraction from the respective wall into the compartment, said sealing means comprising a rotary element provided on each of said receptacles and engaging the respective wall, and a stripping element provided on each receptacle, spaced apart from the respective rotary element and engaging the respective wall to strip the solid fraction from said wall, said directing means comprising an inlet provided between the stripping element and the rotary element on each receptacle and communicating with the respective compartment.