When considering this question, it is important to first ask yourself what are your goals with one of these machines? A filter press provides more efficient surface area and an adjustable pressure to dewater a large variety of slurries. This versatility makes the filter press much more popular. A screw press is typically used for specific applications such as fruit juice bottling and wineries. A screw press is not as effective for more difficult filtration and dewatering applications. They are not recommended for any application that requires cleaner water or a dryer filter cake product for disposal or transportation.
Behind the Nuts and Bolts of a Filter Press vs. Screw Press
It’s important to determine: what are the solids and liquids that you are separating? How dry of a cake do you want? And, how clean of a liquid do you desire? A screw press typically uses the force of a screw to compact the slurry water into a smaller cavity. This creates pressure to help the water pass through the filter cake and filter element. While a filter press has an external slurry pump which increases the pressure of the slurry into the press. This helps the water migrate through the filter cake and element.
