Integrated Sand Washing Unit vs Separate Equipment: How to Compare the Complete Circuit

If the installed washer already meets the cleaning specification and useful fine sand is escaping in its effluent, start by evaluating a separate recovery stage. Measure that stream before deciding to replace the washing section. The useful question is how much recoverable sand it contains, where it can be collected and whether the existing water circuit can accommodate the addition.

An integrated unit becomes a stronger candidate when several stages need replacement together, or when a new plant can be arranged around a matched washing section. The choice still depends on the feed and the product specification. Integration does not correct an unsuitable process.

Which duty needs to change?

Washing addresses contamination in the feed. Clay-bound material may need preparation beyond the proposed washer; feed preparation and classification belong in the process assessment. [1]

Fine sand recovery handles the sand-bearing water stream. In tongzhuo's WS / 2WS system, a slurry pump feeds a hydrocyclone. Sand-rich underflow goes to a dewatering screen; water and predominantly finer particles leave through the overflow. Specify which particles should return to the product and which should leave the circuit. Recovering more fines is only useful if the resulting grading remains acceptable.

Dewatering addresses wet product handling. A TS dewatering screen separates free water. Its catalogue does not establish a fixed final moisture guarantee, and achievable moisture depends on material characteristics. [2] If the problem is water draining from conveyed or stockpiled sand, assess this duty directly.

What the two arrangements change

tongzhuo's SHY assembly combines washing, fine recovery and dewatering. Separate machines let the project retain or replace individual stages. Neither arrangement establishes a cost or performance advantage by itself.

Here, “integrated” describes how those three duties are assembled. A modular wash plant is a different concept: skid-mounted modules can be arranged to build a larger process circuit. [4] Do not infer transportability or pre-connected pipework from the SHY name; confirm the proposed assembly and its external connections.

For a new plant, prepare both options from the same feed analysis and product targets. The wet sand-making process also includes upstream preparation, water supply and effluent handling; those parts of the project remain relevant whichever washing arrangement is selected.

Put the layout and quotation beside each other

Compare the total installation envelope, including external pumps and sumps, pipe routes, supports, walkways, drainage and product discharge. A machine's catalogue dimensions cannot establish the space needed for the circuit.

Mark the washer discharge, slurry collection point, cyclone feed connection, screen discharge and overflow destination on the drawing. Show their elevations. Leave room to remove screen media, reach cyclone connections and service the pump, with a route for lifting and taking out replacement parts. A component that fits on the drawing may still be inaccessible after pipes and conveyors are installed.

For a retrofit, existing conveyors, screens and controls set the interface requirements. [5] Agree the required PLC connections, who will configure them and how the plant will be commissioned. Identify work that can proceed during production and connections that need a shutdown. A workable layout must also fit the site's installation window.

SHY's listed specification excludes water pumps, pipelines and auxiliary parts. WS / 2WS also uses an auxiliary slurry pump selected for the site duty. The quotation therefore needs an itemized boundary: who supplies the pump and motor, sump, suction and discharge lines, valves, pipe supports, control panel and electrical connections? Assign installation and commissioning responsibilities at the same time. “Integrated” alone does not answer these questions.

Size the circuit against the same operating case

SHY lists sand throughput in t/h and water flow in m³/h separately. WS / 2WS lists reference water-handling capacity. Those flow figures are neither sand production rates nor stated fresh-water consumption. Establish whether each tonnage is dry solids or wet product, and which stream each flow figure represents.

An annual sales target also needs an operating-hours calculation. Seasonal limits and available hours affect the required product rate. [5] For illustration only, 200,000 dry tonnes of saleable sand divided by 2,500 productive hours equals 80 t/h. Productive hours exclude stoppages and maintenance. This is an output target. Feed capacity must be assessed separately using the saleable yield; incoming material may include oversize, unwanted fines or other rejects.

Use normal and peak feed conditions to assess the washer, pump, cyclone, screen and water-treatment circuit together. A change in fines content can shift the limiting stage even at similar total tonnage. In circuits with separate fine- and coarse-sand streams, one stream may reach capacity while the other remains underused. [3]

Ask for a solids-and-water balance and an acceptance basis covering product grading, unwanted fines and moisture under the stated feed conditions. This gives both quotations a common quality benchmark instead of comparing headline capacities from different duties.

For a usable comparison, send tongzhuo feed grading and clay data, normal and peak tonnage, effluent flow and solids concentration, product limits, and a site drawing showing existing equipment and water connections. Include the annual saleable-product target, expected productive hours and any installation shutdown limit.