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SCREENING

 The separation of a mixture of various sizes of grains into two or more portions by means of a
screening surface, the screening surface acting as multiple go – no – go gauge and the final
portions consisting of grains of more uniform size than those of the original mixture.

 Material that remains on a given screening surface is the OVERSIZE or TAILS or PLUS MATERIAL,
material passing through the screening surface is the UNDERSIZE or FINES or MINUS MATERIAL,
and material passing one screening surface and retained on a subsequent is the INTERMEDIATE
MATERIAL.

Single Screens

Multiple Screens

Industrial Screening Equipments

1. Vibratory sand Screening Machine

2. Fine Screening Machine

Importance of Screening

1. Means of preparing a product for sale or for) subsequent operation (as in marketing of coal
where the size is the basis for its classification for sale). Many cosmetic products include
particulate material. Some examples of cosmetic products consisting of or including particulates
include facial powders, moisturizers, and lipstick. The particle size distribution of these
components effects appearance, stability, and sunscreen protection. The particle size
distribution of active ingredients is an important physical characteristic of the materials used to
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create pharmaceutical products. The size, distribution and shape of the particles can affect bulk
properties, product performance, processability, stability and appearance of the end product.
2. Means of analysis, either to control or gauge the effectiveness of another operation such as
grinding or crushing
3. To determine the value of a product for some specific application (Measuring and controlling
the particle size distribution of cement is important both in order to achieve the desired product
performance and to control manufacturing costs.)

TYPES OF TESTING SIEVES

1) Tyler Standard Sieve Series – series of screens based upon a 200 mesh screen with wire 0.0021
in thick and with an opening of 0.0029 in (0.0074 cm). The other sizes vary by a fixed ratio of
√2. The mesh is only up to 400.

2) United States Sieve Series – introduced by the National Bureau of Standards differ slightly from
the Tyler Series being based on a 1 – mm opening (No. 18 mesh) and varying by 4 √2
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Terms

• Screen Aperture – clear space between the individual wires of the screen

• Screen Mesh – number of apertures per linear inch (ex. A 10 – mesh screen will have 10
openings per inch)

* Note however that the actual openings are smaller than those corresponding to the mesh
numbers because of the thickness of the wires.

• Formula:

1“=M(A+D)

where: A = aperture ;

M = mesh number ;

D = wire diameter

Example: The wire diameter of a 10 – mesh screen whose aperture is 0.065 in. is?

Given: A = 0.065 in ; M = 10

Required: D

Solution: 1 “ = 10 ( 0.065 + D )

D = 0.035 in

Methods of reporting Size Fraction

1. Aperture

2. Mesh Number
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Methods of Reporting Screen Analysis

1. DIFFERENTIAL SCREEN ANALYSIS OR FRACTIONAL PLOT

The data consist of [ Δφn vs. Dp,n ] or [ Δφn vs. ave Dp,n ]
where: Δφn = mass fraction retained by screen, n
Dp,n = particle diameter or mesh opening
ave Dp,n = Dp, n-1 + Dp, n
2

2. CUMULATIVE ANALYSIS OR CUMULATIVE PLOT

The data consist of
a. [ φn vs. Dp,n ]

where: φn =
b. [ (1 – φn ) vs. Dp,n ]
where: φn = fraction larger than Dp,n
1 – φn = fraction smaller than Dp,n
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SEDIMENTATION(Settling)

SIMPLE DEFINITION:

 The process by which particulates settle to the bottom of a liquid and form sediments

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION:

 The separation of a dilute slurry (solid suspended in fluid) into a clear fluid and dense slurry
(higher solid content) by gravity settling.

Theory of Sedimentation

• Whenever a particle is moving through a fluid, a number of forces will be acting on the particle.

• There are three forces acting on the body:

- Gravity Force

- Buoyant Force

- Drag Force

FG, the force of gravity acting to make the particle settle downward through the fluid.

FB, the buoyant force which opposes the gravity force, acting upwards.

FD, the “drag force” or “viscous force”, the fluid’s resistance to the particles passage through the fluid;
also acting upwards.
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Settling Regimes

1. Free Settling (Discrete Particle Settling) – Type 1

• In discrete settling, individual particles settle independently

• The movement of a particle is not affected by the presence of other particles

• It occurs when there is a relatively low solids concentration

• The particles that are settling are characterized by a constant rate

• The particle is assumed to be moving at its terminal velocity

• Terminal Velocity, ut – the maximum and constant velocity reached by a particle as it falls
through a fluid, dependent on its size and shape and the difference between its specific
gravity and that of the settling medium

2. Flocculant Settling – Type 2

• In flocculant settling, individual particles stick together into clumps called flocs

• The addition of flocculant enables the particles to settle faster

• As flocculation occurs – the mass of the particle increases and settles faster

3. Hindered (Zone Settling) – Type 3

• The movement of a particle is impeded by other particles, which happens when the particles
are near each other though they may not actually be colliding.

• The rate of settling is not constant.

• Whole mass suspension – because particles have different sizes – slow moving ones hinder
the fast moving ones causing them to settle as a whole mass

4. Compression Settling – Type 4

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• Compression settling occurs when particles settle by compressing the mass below

• Settling occurs after the sludge is formed

• The experiment in particular deals with HINDERED SETTLING.

Analysis of Hindered Settling (Type 3)

• Both Hindered or Zone settling (Type 3) and Compression settling (Type 4) usually occur in
addition to Discrete (Free) and Flocculant settling in systems that contain high concentrations of
suspended solids.

• Because of the high concentration of particles, the liquid tends to move up through the
interstices of the containing particles. As a result, the contacting particles tend to settle as a
zone, maintaining the same relative position with respect to each other. The phenomenon is
known as Hindered Settling

• As the particles in this region settle, a relatively clear layer of water is produced above the
particles in the settling region

• As the compression layer forms, regions containing successively lower concentrations of solids
than those in the compression region extend upward.

• The rate of settling in the hindered – settling region is a function of the concentration of solids
and their characteristics.

Treatment of Data

a. Determination of the Area of Thickening (developed by Talmadge and Fitch)

• A column of height Ho is filled with a suspension of solids in uniform concentration Co

• The position of the interface as time elapses and the suspension settles is graphed

• The rate at which the interface subsides is then equal to the slope of the curve at that point
in time.

• According to the procedure, the area required for thickening is given by:

Ath = (Q tu )/Ho

A = area required for sludge thickening

Q = flow rate into tank

Ho = initial height of interface column

tu = time to reach desired underflow concentration

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a.1) Determination of tu

1. Construct a horizontal line at the depth Hu that corresponds to the depth at which the solids
are at the desired underflow concentration, Cu

Hu is determined by: HuCu = HoCo

2. Construct a tangent to the settling curve at the point indicated by C2

C2 – critical concentration controlling the sludge handling capability of the tank and
occurs at height, H2

• determined by extending the tangents to the hindered & compression zones of the
subsidence curve to the point of intersection & bisecting the angle thus formed

3. Construct a vertical line from the point of intersection of the two lines drawn in steps 1 and 2.
With the tu value, the area for thickening is calculated using the equation provided in a).

b. Determination of the Area of Clarification

1. Determine the interface subsidence velocity V. The interface subsidence velocity V
is determined by computing the slope of the tangent drawn from the initial portion
of the interface settling curve. (subsidence velocity is also called the settling
velocity)
2. Determine the clarification rate Qc. Because the clarification is proportional to the
liquid volume above the critical sludge zone, it may be computed as follows:
Qc = [ Q ( Ho – Hu ) ]
Ho
3. Determine the area required for clarification by dividing the clarification rate Qc by
the subsidence velocity V.
Acl = (Qc)/V
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* Determine the controlling area by comparing the Area of Thickening and the
Area of Clarification. (The larger of the two areas is taken as the controlling
area)

c) Determination of Solids Loading:

Solids Loading = (Q x density of slurry) /controlling area

d) Determination of Hydraulic Loading Rate, QH

QH = Q/controlling area

FILTRATION

• Removal of solids from fluid (gas or liquid) by a filtering medium on which solid particles are
deposited.

• The mechanical or physical operation which is used for the separation of solids from fluids
(liquids or gases) by interposing a medium through which only the fluid can pass.

• Filtration, when applied to gas cleaning, usually refers to the removal of fine particles like dust
from air or flue gas.

• Oversize solids in the fluid are retained, but the separation is not complete; solids will be
contaminated with some fluid and filtrate will contain fine particles (depending on the pore size
and filter thickness).

Diagram of simple filtration: oversize particles in the feed cannot pass through the lattice structure of
the filter, while fluid and small particles pass through, becoming filtrate.
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Filter Media

- The septum in any filter must meet the following requirements:

1. It must retain the solids to be filtered, giving a reasonably clear filtrate.

2. It must not plug or blind.

3. It must be resistant chemically and strong enough physically to withstand the process conditions.

4. It must permit the cake formed to discharge cleanly and completely.

5. It must not be prohibitively expensive.

PFFP(PLATE-AND-FRAME FILTER PRESS

• Consists of series of plates and frames sandwitched alternately

• Filter presses have been around for many years mainly dewatering waste sludges

• The basic filtration unit consists of a feed storage tank, pump, and a plate-and-frame filtration
unit.

 Filter presses generally work in a "batch" manner. The plates are clamped together, then a
pump starts feeding the slurry into the filter press to complete a filtering cycle and produce a
batch of solid filtered material, called the filter cake. The stack of plates is opened, solid is
removed, and the stack of plates is re-clamped and the filtering cycle is repeated.
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Step 1 : Sludge is fed into the filter press by a suitable pumping system and passes through the
feed eye of the succeeding plates along the length of the plate pack until all chambers are full of
slurry. This is known as the fast fill portion of the filter cycle.

Step 2 : Flowing under pressure, the solid particles begin to deposit on the surface of the filter
cloth forming the initial layer of filter cake referred to as the pre-coat. Once applied, this pre-
coat layer becomes the actual filtering medium.
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Step 3 : As filtering continues the cake thickness gradually increases, until the adjacent filter
cake in each chamber touch or bridge. At this point of the filter cycle, the dewatering phase
enters into final cake consolidation to achieve maximum cake dryness
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Pressure Drop

• Pressure drop occurs when frictional forces, caused by the resistance to flow, act on a fluid as it
flows

The pressure drop through the system is due to three resistances in series:

1) the resistance of the pipes, bends, valves, etc.

2) the resistance of flow through the filter medium

3) the resistance of flow through the growing filter cake on the surface of the medium

*** The first two resistances are constant during the experiment, but the third is a function of time.

• At any time, t, the pressure drop experienced at that time by a suspension passing through a
filter cake supported by a filter medium (or septum) is:

ΔP(t) = ΔPc (t) + ΔPm

where:

ΔP(t) = total pressure drop across filter

ΔPc(t) = pressure drop due to filter cake

ΔPm = pressure drop due to filter medium

• The experiment introduces two empirical parameters to describe the filter performance:

(1) the resistance of the filter medium Rm, and

Rm = A ΔP gc (1/qo)

(2) the specific resistance of the cake, α

α = A2 ΔP gc Kc

µc

• A plot of t / V versus V will be linear, with a slope equal to Kc / 2 and an intercept of 1 / q0. From
such a plot, the values of α and Rm may be calculated graphically or…..

t = Kc V + 1

V 2 qo
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