Abstract: A plant for preparing and feeding a coating composition to a coating head for paper or the like includes a plurality of hoppers, each hopper being intended to receive and deliver one ingredient of the composition. The plant further includes a premixer tank which is fed by the hoppers and mixes and homogenizes the formed composition and a homogenizing tank, fed by the premixer tank, having a high-speed stirrer for shearing the composition. A buffer capacity is directly and continuously fed by the homogenizing tank and connected to the coating head, wherein the buffer capacity preferably has a volume and an attached level detector for determining when the composition in the buffer capacity is below a predetermined level. A set of controllers attached to the level detector control the delivery of components from the plurality of hoppers.

Abstract: Valve (1) for establishing communication between two pipes, these being an upper pipe (8) and a lower pipe (7), and in which each pipe, (7, 8) can accommodate at least one scraper (32), the valve (1) comprising a stationary body (2) with passages (3, 4; 5, 6) for connecting to the pipes, a moving shut-off member (20) inside the body (2), and an operator (30) for operating said shut-off member (20), wherein:the axes of said pipes are offset;and the moving shut-off member (20) is pierced across its section with a through-orifice (23) that corresponds to the diameter of the upper pipe (8), and on its face that faces the lower pipe (7) has a protruding portion (25) that can be housed in an opening (15) in the communication region (9) while the through-orifice (23) is coinciding with the connection passages (5, 6) of the upper pipe (8), wherein the edges of the portion form a stop for one of the scrapers (32) of the upper pipe (8) when the valve is open.

Abstract: Apparatus for filtering a suspension having a chamber containing a cylindrical filter cartridge. At least one suction box is rotatably mounted inside the cartridge containing a scraper blade for riding in contact with the inside face of the cartridge. The blade is arranged to direct material removed from the cartridge into an opening formed in the box wherein the material is removed from the chamber.