CHEP 406: MOMENTUM TRANSFER MRamos 1

CHEP 406: MOMENTUM TRANSFER

PARTICLE FLUID SEPARATION:
FILTRATION
Engr. Michael Allan Ramos
Department of Chemical Engineering
Technological Institute of the Philippines - Manila
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Filtration
• Unit operation used to separate solid particles from a
slurry by passing the slurry through a semi-permeable
membrane. Separation is based on particle size.
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Basic Principles
Higher Flow Lower
Pressure Pressure

Slurry Filtrate

Pin

-(ΔP)

Pout

Rcake Rmedium

Filter
Medium
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Equipment and Operating Conditions

• Factors in selecting equipment and operating conditions:
1. Properties of the fluid
2. Nature of the solid
3. Concentration of solids in the suspension
4. Quantity and value of material to be handled
5. Valuable Product: solid, liquid, or both
6. Necessity of washing the filtered solids
7. Whether the feed liquor may be heated
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Equipment and Operating Conditions

• Factors influencing the rate of filtration:
1. Pressure drop
2. Area of filtering surface
3. Viscosity of filtrate
4. Resistance of filter cake
5. Resistance of the filter medium
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Modes of Operation
• Batch – the filtered solids are removed after each run.
ØEach run is consist of the following steps:
1. Filtration
2. Washing
3. Disassembling
4. Dumping
5. Cleaning
6. Assembling

• Continuous – filtration, washing, dumping/cleaning are

being done simultaneously.
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BATCH FILTRATION
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Batch Filters
•Plate-and-Frame Filter Press
Ø consists of plates and frames
arranged alternately and
supported on a pair of rails

ØAdvantages:
1. Simple to operate
2. Versatile in operation
3. Can be used for high pressures
and viscous solutions
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Batch Filters
•Leaf Filter
Ø features a pressure vessel in
which are located one or more
filter elements or leaves of
circular or rectangular
construction

ØAdvantages:
1. Used for large volume of slurry
2. More efficient during washing
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Working Equation

RUTH EQUATION

where:
V= total volume of filtrate collected after time, θ cs = solids concentration in the slurry
V = fictitious filtrate volume kg solids/m3 filtrate
A = Filter area μ = viscosity of filtrate
(-ΔP) = Pressure drop s = compressibility factor
αo = ave. specific cake resistance, m/kg
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Filtration Operation
1) Constant Pressure Filtration (CPF)

For CPF:

Substituting to
Ruth Equation:

By variable separable and integrating

both sides: time, 0 to θf, and volume, 0 to Vf:
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Filtration Operation
2) Constant Rate Filtration (CRF)

For CRF:

Substituting to
Ruth Equation:

y = m x + b (slope-intercept form)
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Filtration Operation
3) CPF preceded by CRF

CRF CPF
For CPF:
Pressure Drop, - ΔP

θr θf
Integrating from θr to θf and Vr to Vf:

Vr Vf
Filtrate Volume, V
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Filter Capacity, y

where:
θf = time for filtration
θw = time for washing
θc = time for cleaning
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Washing in Filtration
Constant Pressure Filtration (CPF)

For Leaf Filter: Rate of Washing = Rate of Filtration

For PFFP: Rate of Washing = ¼ Rate of Filtration

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MATERIAL BALANCE
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Mass of wet cake / mass of dry cake, w

Basis of 1 m3 : ε = m3 of liquid (1-ε) = m3 of solids

kg wet cake = kg of liquid + kg of solids

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Mass of dry cake / volume of filtrate, cs

ms = mass of solids / mass of slurry

kg slurry = kg wet cake + kg of filtrate

Basis of 1 kg slurry:
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Cake Thickness, Lc

Volume of wet cake = Filtration Area x cake thickness

= mass of wet cake / density of wet cake
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CONTINUOUS FILTRATION
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Rotary Vacuum-Drum Filters

• consist of a vacuum-drum partially submerged in a slurry where

filtration, washing, dumping/cleaning are being done simultaneously

• Minimum labor cost

• Uniform quality of output
• High throughput
• Pressure difference is limited due
to structural design
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Rotary Vacuum-Drum Filters

Pin < Pout

Nomenclature:
Pout = atmospheric pressure
Pin = inside operating pressure
d = distance of axis of rotation to
the surface of slurry
r = radius of the drum
N = no. of revolutions per time
θT = total time per cycle
θR= filtration time
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Working Equations
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Working Equations
Evaluation of the central angle, β:

Case I – Axis is above the slurry surface

Case II – Axis is below the surface of the slurry

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EXAMPLE PROBLEMS
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Problem 1

Filter at CRF is operated from 10 kPa to 100 kPa delivering

5 cubic meters of filtrate. Calculate the fictitious volume of
filtrate needed to develop a cake resistance equivalent to
that of the medium.
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Problem 2
A plate-and-frame filter press is used to filter a slurry where
pressure drop increases from 2 kPa to 50 kPa producing
10 cubic meter of filtrate after 20 minutes. The 50 kPa
pressure is then maintained constant for 30 minutes.
Determine:

a) volume of filtrate delivered after CPF

b) capacity of filter if the cake is washed with 15% of the
filtrate and cleaning takes 12 minutes.
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Problem 3
A leaf filter is used for producing a cake that is 65% solids
by volume from a slurry containing 3% solids. The average
particle diameter is 10 microns, and the cake is
compressible (s=0.25). The filter operates at (-
ΔP)=350kPa, building up a cake 2 cm thick. After filtering,
the cake is washed with a volume of water equal to 15% of
the filtrate volume at (-ΔP)=300kPa. The cleaning time is
30 min. What area is required for the press to produce
2500 kg of wet cake (65% solids by volume) per day. The
specific gravity of the dry cake is 1.28. For the filtrate:
viscosity=1 cP and density is 1000 kg/m3
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Problem 4
A leaf filter with an area of 2 m2 is operated at CPF at
45kPa. 10 m3 of filtrate are delivered in 1 hr forming a
compressible cake (s = 0.25). If the same slurry is used in a
rotary filter where: D = 1 m; L = 5 m; Pin = 40 Kpa, slurry is
30 cm above the axis rotation rate = 2 rpm. How much
filtrate will be delivered?
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SEATWORK J

1. A plate-and-frame filter press is used to filter a certain

sludge for 2 hours at constant pressure. Washing is
done by using 10% of the filtrate volume collected.
Estimate the time needed for washing.

2. A small leaf filter is run at constant rate. It is found that

the initial pressure is 5 psig and the pressure after 20
minutes of operation during which 30 gallons of filtrate
is collected is 50 psig. If this filter is used with the same
slurry in a constant pressure filtration at 50 psig,
calculate the volume of filtrate collected after 20
minutes.
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