Chamber filter press is also called "hydraulic filter press", is one kind of small sludge dewatering machine. It consists of many filtration plates which forms many separated filtration chambers, each plate is with two filter cloths at its two sides.

The slurry is fed to the chambers and the filter cakes are accumulated in each chamber. As the filter cake becomes thicker, the filter resistance increases as well. So when the separating chamber is full, the filtration process is stopped as the optimum pressure difference is reached.

The filtrate that passes through filter cloth is collected through collection pipes and stored in the filter tank. Filter cake (suspended solid) accumulation occurs at the chamber, then being separated at the filter plates by pulling the chamber filter press apart. The cakes then fall off from those plates and are discharged to the final collection point.

Sludge cake discharge can be done in many ways. For example: Shaking the plates while they are being opened or shaking the cloths. A scraper can also be used, by moving from one chamber to another and scraping the cake off the cloth. At the end of each run, the cloths are cleaned using wash liquid and are ready to start the next cycle.