Abstract: Process and apparatus for completely recovering the reusable components of an abrasive slurry used in slicing crystalline materials of silicon, quartz or ceramics when it becomes exhausted and enriched with undesired waste matter. The process consists of an initial centrifuge separation of the exhausted slurry as such and of a wet size-sorting treatment of the fraction containing the abrasive grains obtained from the centrifuge, carried out in a battery of hydrocyclones or centrifuges connected in series. The section for the recovery and purification of the abrasive grains comprises a multifunctional apparatus that performs all the required operations within a single pressure vessel.

Abstract: A method for preparing a suspension from a separation process, wherein the suspension is made of a particulate abrasive and a liquid slurrying agent. The method includes the steps of: a) thinning the suspension in a tank with an additional slurrying agent (PEG) without adding additional water, producing a constant volume ratio between the particulate abrasive and the liquid slurrying agent; b) separating the thinned suspension into a liquid and a solid fraction in a centrifugal separator, and c) subsequent refinement or reuse of the separated liquid and solid fractions.