Filter Press: Iron Plates and Frames Clamped by a Jack-Screw (Spencer, 1917)

The sugar-house filter press: a row of iron plates and frames, each covered with filter cloth, hung on a heavy framework and squeezed together by a strong jack-screw. The cloth itself seals the joints. Mud pumped in collects as cake in the frames, and the clear liquid runs out through cocks on the plates. Result: a plate-and-frame filter press that works best at about 40 lb per square inch. Source: G. L. Spencer, A Handbook for Cane-Sugar Manufacturers (1917), pp. 66-67. Unknown: sizes and the number of chambers. Picture: a drawn diagram.