Abstract: A method and apparatus for separating particles suspended in a liquid from the liquid. A flow of the liquid is passed through a filter bed of ferromagnetic bodies which acts as a coarse filter to trap the larger particles in the flow. The filter bed is arranged within a truncated cone between the poles of an electromagnet. To cleanse the bed and flush out the trapped particles a wash liquid is passed through the bed and the electromagnet is energized to levitate the bed to thereby allow the wash liquid to remove the particles. The liquid flow from the coarse filter can be passed to a high gradient magnetic separator at which remaining small particles in the flow are filtered magnetically.