The present invention relates to an apparatus for distributing a material over a surface.
The invention is concerned in particular with distributing a slurry to be filtered over a filtering surface, and specifically to the production of phosphoric acid, where it can be used to distribute a wash liquid, or any liquid which is more or less highly charged with solid matter, over a filter.
An apparatus of this type is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,575. That apparatus is formed by a body or casing which comprises a feed compartment into which a material to be filtered is introduced, and a distribution compartment into which the material passes by overflow from the feed compartment, flowing out of the distribution compartment over the filtering surface.
At the present time, the installations being built to filter slurries are of ever-increasing size, in order to produce ever-increasing tonnages. This occurrence gives rise to the necessity for higher flow rates of material to be introduced in each operation into the casings of the above-specified type. It has been noted that, with high flow rates, the major part of the slurry has a tendency to be displaced towards the side edges of the feed and distribution compartments, which give rise to unequal distribution over the filter surface.