Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336

www.elsevier.com/locate/ces
An assessment of the conventional cake ltration theory
Chi Tien
;1
, Renbi Bai
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Singapore
Received 13 April 2001; received in revised form 18 April 2002; accepted 1 October 2002
Abstract
An assessment of the viability and utility of the conventional cake ltration theory was made by comparing the results based on the
conventional theory with those obtained from more exact numerical analyses. The validity of the assumptions on which the conventional
theories are based, such as negligible solid motion, constant liquid velocity through a cake and constant and time-invariant wet to dry
cake mass ratio was examined. Based on the comparisons, a more accurate procedure of applying the conventional theory was presented.
? 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Cake ltration; Conventional cake ltration theories; Cake characteristics; Prediction of cake ltration dynamics
1. Introduction
The conventional cake ltration theory consists of a body
of knowledge of the dynamics of cake ltration devel-
oped by Ruth (1935) and subsequent investigators (Grace,
1953; Tiller, 1953, 1955, 1958; Tiller & Cooper, 1960;
Shirato, Murase, Ivitari, & Tiller, 1987). In cake ltration,
the solid/uid suspension to be treated is, under pressure,
passed through a medium (septum) which allows the ow
of the suspending uid but retains the suspended particles
to form a cake on the upstream side of the medium. During
ltration, the cake thickness increases with time. In most
cases, it also becomes more compacted and its resistance
to uid ow increases accordingly. The features of the
dynamic behavior of cake ltration are the histories of the
cake thickness, the evolution of the cake structure and the
history of the total ltrate for a specied set of operating
conditions. The conventional cake ltration theory is capa-
ble of making these predictions and have been used widely
in design calculations and in interpreting experimental
data.
Formulation of the conventional theory is based on a
number of assumptions. Although there are questions about
the validity of these assumptions, the conventional theory

Corresponding author. Tel.: +65-315-443-4050;

fax: +65-315-44-1243.
E-mail address: ctien@mailbox.syr.edu (C. Tien).
1
Present address: Department of Chemical Engineering, Syracuse Uni-
versity, Syracuse, NY 13244.
has been widely accepted in practice. More rigorous anal-
yses without some or all of the assumptions used in the
conventional theory, however, have been attempted in the
past (Smiles, 1970; Atsumi & Akiyama, 1975; Wakeman,
1978; Willis & Tosun, 1980; Tosun, 1986; Stamatakis &
Tien, 1991; Landman, White, & Eberl, 1995; Tien, Bai, &
Ramarao, 1997; Burger, Concha, & Karlseu, 2001). These
analyses, in principal, can be used to assess the accuracy
and utility of the conventional theory. To our knowl-
edge, this kind of studies have not been reported in the
literature.
In the present study, we examined the accuracy and via-
bility of the conventional theory in predicting the dynamic
behavior of cake ltration and its use in interpreting exper-
imental data. This revisiting was carried out by assaying
results from the more exact analysis for a large number of
situations and comparing them with predictions from the
conventional theory. The comparisons include not only l-
tration performance, but also more detailed and microscopic
information such as uid and solid velocity proles and cake
structure and their evolutions. Based on these comparisons,
a new procedure of applying the conventional theory is pro-
posed.
2. Conventional cake ltration theory
Cake ltration may be studied from the solution of the
relevant continuity equations, the closing relationships and
the appropriate initial, boundary and moving boundary
0009-2509/03/$ - see front matter ? 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0009-2509(02)00655-3
1324 C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336
Fig. 1. Schematic representation of cake ltration.
conditions. For the one-dimensional case as shown in Fig. 1,
the continuity equations of the liquid and particle phases
are
@q

@x
=
@
s
@t
(1a)
for 0 6x 6L(t);
@q
s
@x
=
@
s
@t
; (1b)
where x is the distance away fromthe medium, t, the time,
s
,
the local cake solidosity. The local uid and solid supercial
velocity, q

and q
s
are related by the following expression:
q

1
s

q
s

s
=
1
1
s
k

@p

@x
; (2)
where k is the local cake permeability, the uid viscosity
and p

the pore liquid pressure.

For the general case of compressible cakes, the cake struc-
ture (or
s
and k) are functions of the compressive stress or

s
=
s
(p
s
) and k = k(
s
) (3)
and the compressive stress, p
s
, in general, can be related to
the pore liquid pressure p

or
P
s
= p
s
(p

): (4)
The solution of the above set of equations together with
appropriate initial, boundary, and moving boundary condi-
tions provide information on ltration performance (instan-
taneous ltrate rate vs. time; cumulative ltration volume
vs. time, cake thickness vs. time as well as the evaluation of
the proles of the pore liquid pressure, compressive stress
and solidosity across the cake thickness).
The conventional theory gives a solution to the above
systems of equations under certain assumptions including:
1. The solid phase velocity, q
s
is negligible.
2. The uid velocity is constant across the cake at any in-
stant.
3. The cake solidosity (
s
) permeability (k) and specic
cake resistance are functions of the compressive stress
(p
s
) only.
4. The relationship between p

and p
s
is given as
@p

@p
s
=1
or
p

+ p
s
= p
0
: (5)
5. The moving boundary eect of the cakesuspension in-
terface is negligible. The main results of the conventional
cake ltration theory is summarized in Table 1. To apply
the results summarized in Table 1, the knowledge of the
dependence of vs. p
s
is required. This dependence can
be determined experimentally (either from constant pres-
sure ltration experimental data (Shirato et al., 1987) or
the compression-permeability cell measurements (Grace,
1953)). A complete set of the constitutive relationships
of lter cakes includes
s
vs. p
s
; k vs. p
s
and/or vs.
p
s
. These relationships are often expressed empirically
as

s
=
0
s
_
1 +
p
s
p
a
_

; (6a)
k = k
0
_
1 +
p
s
p
a
_

; (6b)
=
1

s
k
=
0
_
1 +
p
s
p
a
_
n
(6c)
and

0
= (
0
s
k
0

s
)
1
; n =

0
s
; k
0
;
0
; ; and P
a
are empirical constants.
Eqs. (a), (f) and (h) of Table 1 are the main features of the
conventional theory. Additional assumptions are required
for their practical application. The value of m
av
appearing in
these equations are based on the average cake solidosity
s
(see Eqs. (b) and (c) of Table 1).
s
as dened is a function of
cake thickness (or time). Since the solidosity prole is often
unavailable, can be approximated by the stress-averaged
C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336 1325
Table 1
Main results of the conventional cake ltration theory
Basic equation: q

=
k

@P

@x
= q

m
0 6x 6L(t).
Integrated results:
q

m
=
dV
dt
=
p
c
s(1 m
av
s)
1

av
V
=
p
m
R
m
=
P
0
s(1 m
av
s)
1

av
V + R
m
, (a)
where p
c
; p
m
are the pressure drops across cake and medium,
p
0
the operating pressure, p
0
= p
0
+ p
m
s the mass fraction of particles of the suspension
the liquid viscosity
m
av
the average wet to dry cake mass ratio
m
av
= [
s

s
+ (1
s
)]=(
s

s
), (b)

s
the particle density

s
the average cake porosity

s
= (
_
L
0

s
dx)=L (c)

av
the average specic cake resistance

av
= (p
c
)=[
_
P
0
p
m
0
(1=)(dp

=dp
s
) dP
s
] (d)
the local specic cake resistance
= 1(k
s

s
) (e)
Constant pressure ltration:
s(1 m
av
s)
1

av
V
2
2
+ R
m
V = p
0
t (f)
and (1 m
av
s)
1

av
=
2
V
2
_
V
0
(1 m
av
s)
1

av
V dV. (g)
Constant rate ltration:
dV
dt
= q

m
= q

m
= Q = constant
V = Qt
p
0
= Q[s(1 m
av
s)
1
(
av
)(Qt) + R
m
]. (h)
value of
s
;
s
; which is given as

s
=
1
p
c
_
p
c
0

s
dp
s
(7)
with the further assumptions that p
c

= p
0
.
Fromits denition (see Eq. (b) of Table 1), (1 m
av
s)
1

av
is a function of V (or time) and its evaluation requires the
information of the variations of m
av
and (see Eqs. (b) and
(d)) with V (or time). However, if one assumes that both
(1 m
av
s) and
av
approach to their respective constant
values (for p
c
p
0
) rapidly, it can be evaluated as
(1 m
av
s)
1

av
= (1 m
av
s)
1

av
(8)
with both m
av
and
av
evaluated corresponding to p
c

P
0
. With these approximations, Eq. (f) can be used to predict
V vs. t in a straightforward manner. For the constant rate
case, Eq. (b) can be used to obtain p
0
vs. t iteratively since
both m
av
and
av
dependent upon p
0
.
3. Additional information from the conventional theory
The conventional theory can also be applied to obtain fur-
ther information about cake ltration such as cake thickness
vs. time and the evolution of the solidosity and compressive
stress proles across lter cakes. If all suspended particles
are retained to form lter cakes, one has
c
0
(L + V) =
s
L; (9)
where c
0
is the volume fraction of particles of the suspen-
sion. From Eq. (9), one has
V =
_

s
c
0
1
_
L: (10)
Substituting Eqs. (10) and (8) into Eq. (f) of Table 1, one
has
s(1 m
av
s)
1
(
av
)(1=2)
_

s
c
0
1
_
2
L
2
+R
m
_

s
c
0
1
_
L = p
0
t: (11)
The pressure drop across the cake as a fraction of the total
pressure drop is
s[1 m
av
s]
1
[
av
]V
s[1 m
av
s]
1
[
av
]V + R
m
=
p
c
p
0
: (12)
For the liquid pressure, compressive stress and solidosity
proles across lter cakes, from Eq. (2) with q
s
=0 and Eq.
(6a), one has
q

dx =k
0
_
1 +
p
s
p
a
_

dp
s
:
The integrated form of this equation is

_
x
0
q

dx
=
k
0
1
p
a
_
_
1 +
p
s
m
p
a
_
1

_
1 +
p
s
p
a
_
1
_
(13a)
and

_
L
0
q

dx =
k
0
1
p
a
_
_
1 +
p
s
m
p
a
_
1
1
_
; (13b)
where p
s
m
is the value of p
s
at x=0 (cake/mediuminterface).
Dividing Eqs. (13a) by (13b) yields
_
x
0
q

dx
_
L
0
q

dx
=
_
1 +
p
s
m
p
a
_
1

_
1 +
p
s
p
a
_
1
_
1 +
p
s
m
p
a
_
1
1
:
Based on the assumption that q

is constant across the

thickness of a cake, the left-hand side quantity of the above
expression is (x=L). The following expression is then ob-
tained:
1
(1 + p
s
=p
a
)
1
1
(1 + p
s
m
=p
a
)
1
1

= x=L
1326 C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336
Table 2
Equations describing the dynamics of cake ltration
a
Equation of change
k
0
p
a

(
0
s
)

(1)

@
@x
_

s
@
s
@x
_
+
k
m
(x
m
)
[p
0
p
a
{(
s
=
0
s
)
1=
x=0
1}]
@
s
@x
=
@
s
@t
b
for 0 x L(t).
Boundary conditions
k
0
p
a

(
0
s
)
(1)=
(
s
)
(1)=1
@
s
@x
=
k
m
(x
m
)
[p
0
p
a
{(
s
=
0
s
)
1=
1}] = q

m
at x = 0 (b)

s
=
0
s
at x \ L. (c)
Equation of cake growth rate
dL
dt
=
k
0
p
a

0
s

0
s
c
0
1

0
s
_
@
s
@x
_
L
(
0
s
)
(1)=
_
(
s
)
(1)=1
_
@
s
@x
_
i
__
(d)
L = 0, at t = 0. (e)
a
These equations were rst derived in Stamatakis and Tien (1991) based on the multiphase ow theory. A discussion of the theory can be
found from the review article of Rietema (1982).
b
Based on Eq. (28) of Stamatakis and Tien (1991) after correcting certain typographical errors. The constitutive relationship of
s
vs. p
s
(Eq.
(6a)) was used to express p
s
in terms of
s
.
which, upon rearrangement, gives the approximate compres-
sive stress prole.
p
s
p
a
=
_
1 +
_
1
x
L
_
_
_
1 +
p
s
m
p
a
_
1
1
__
1=(1)
1:
(14a)
The solidosity proled can be found from Eqs. (14a) and
(6a) to be

0
s
=
__
_
1 +
p
s
m
p
a
_
1
1
_
_
1
x
L
_
+ 1
_
=(1)
:
(14b)
Similarly, the liquid pressure prole can be obtained by
combining Eqs. (14a) and (5).
4. Analysis of cake ltration based on multiphase ow
theory
In more recent years, a number of studies (Smiles, 1970;
Atsumi & Akiyama, 1975; Tosun, 1986; Stamatakis & Tien,
1991; Tien et al., 1997; Burger et al., 2001) have been made
on analyzing cake ltration based on the multiphase ow
theory and without the various assumptions of the conven-
tional theory. The analyses are based on the solution of Eqs.
(1a) and (1b) and using Eq. (2) for the relative liquid/solid
motion and the assumptions that the local permeability and
solidosity are functions of the local compressive stress of
the solid phase.
2
With properly formulated moving bound-
ary conditions of the cake/suspension interface and Eq. (5)
2
In recent years, Landman et al. (1995) proposed a dierent formulation
for studying cake ltration, the so-called rheological model which has two
characterizing parameters; p
y
(
s
), the yield stress and r(
s
), the hindered
settling factor. However, the two parameters can be related to
s
(p
s
) and
k(p
s
). Thus the formulation does not represent anything new or dierent
from that used in those references cited above.
from the p
s
p

relationship, numerical solutions obtained

from these equations yield not only the performance results
(i.e. V and L vs. t) but information on the evolution of
the solidosity and compressive stress proles across lter
cakes as well as detailed knowledge of the solid and liquid
phase velocities. The numerical solution therefore can be
used as a benchmark to assess the validity of the assump-
tions used in the conventional theory and evaluate the ac-
curacy of its predictions of ltration performance. A major
part of the present work is to obtain these numerical solu-
tions and compare them with those from the conventional
theory.
The governing equations based on the multiphase ow
theory are summarized in Table 2. The method used for their
numerical solution are those developed previously (Tien et
al., 1997). Details of the derivations of the equations and
the method used for their solutions can be found elsewhere
(Stamatakis & Tien, 1991; Tien et al., 1997) and will not
be repeated here.
The numerical results obtained cover three systems; Hong
Kong Kaolin, Kaolin and colloidal silica which display var-
ious degrees of compressive behavior. Other factors consid-
ered in the assessment include the eect of medium resis-
tance characterized by R
0
= (1=k
0
)=R
m
and the suspension
particle concentration. The conditions used in the numerical
calculations are listed in Table 3.
5. Validity of the assumptions
As stated previously, the formulation and application of
the conventional theory are based on a number of assump-
tions. In the following we present the numerical solutions
of the volume-averaged continuity equations without these
assumptions for the case of constant lters to assess the va-
lidity of these assumptions as detailed below.
C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336 1327
Table 3
Conditions used in the numerical analysis of cake ltration
Variable Type of lter cake
Hong Kong Kaolin Kaolin Colloidal silica
Volume fraction
of suspension particle
concentration, c
0
(-) 0.15, 0.23 0.23 0.02
Density of suspending
liquid (kg=m
3
) 1000 1000 1000
Total pressure drop p
0
, (Pa) 100,000 100,000 100,000
Relative medium resistance
parameter, R
0
(m
1
) 10, 100, 1,000 10, 100, 1,000 10, 100, 1,000
R
0
= (1=k
0
)(1=R
m
), R
m
medium resistance (see Eq. (25a))
Viscosity of suspending
liquid, (Ns m
2
) 0.001 0.001 0.001

0
s
(-) 0.27 0.32 0.07
(-) 0.09 0.09 0.4
k
0
(m
2
) 3:22 10
15
1:09 10
4
6:35 10
15
(-) 0.465 0.64 0.19
p
a
(Pa) 1370 19,000 17,000
Particle density

s
(kg m
3
) 1500
Fig. 2. Liquid velocity proles across Hong Kong Kaolin cakes, p
0
= 100; 000P
a
; c
0
= 0:23: (a) q

vs. x=L, and (b) q

=q

m
vs. x=L.
1328 C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336
Fig. 3. Liquid velocity proles across Kaolin cakes, p
0
= 100; 000P
a
; c
0
= 0:23: (a) q

vs. x=L, and (b) q

=q

m
vs. x=L.
5.1. Negligible solid phase velocity and constant liquid
velocity
A typical example of the liquid phase velocity prole
is shown in Fig. 2 (Hong Kong Kaolin suspension with
c
0
=0:23) and Fig. 3 (Kaolin suspension with c
0
=0:23). In
Fig. 2, the results are presented as q

vs. x=L (Fig. 2a) and

q

=q

m
vs. x=L (Fig. 2b). The results show that liquid veloc-
ity varies greatly across a cake and changes with time. In the
case of R
0
=1000, the value of q

m
(or q

at x=0) at t=1500 s
is only 5% of its initial value (i.e. t = 1 s) generally speak-
ing q

decrease montonically with x. The constancy of q

is
not observed and the extent of non-constancy increases with
time. Since q

+q
m
=constant, it means that for a substan-
tial part of a cake (i.e. the part close to the cake/suspension
interface), the solid phase velocity could be substantial
and is not negligible which actually accounts for cake
compression.
For Kaolin cakes, the liquid velocity results shown in
Fig. 3 display similar behavior although the degree of
non-constancy is less. This dierence arose from the dier-
ence of their compression characteristics (namely, values
of
0
; p
a
and of Eq. (6c)).
To demonstrate the possible eect of the suspension
solid concentration on the shape of the liquid velocity
prole, the results of Hong Kong Kaolin with c
0
= 0:15
are shown in Fig. 4. Comparing Fig. 4 with Fig. 2b, it
is clear that for the same t, the degree of non-constancy
is reduced with the decrease of c
0
. This is entirely ex-
pected since in cake ltration, the cake thickness at a
given time and under the same operating pressure is a
monotonic increasing function of the suspension particle
concentration.
Tiller, Lu, Kwon, and Lee (1999), based on the con-
ventional theory, presented an approximate, time-invariant
expression of q

=q

m
vs. x=L (their Eq. (31)).
3
Predic-
tions based on the approximate expression are also shown
in Fig. 4. No discernable tendency can be observed, in
comparing this approximate expression with the numerical
results.
3
A subsequent work by Lee, Ju, Kwon, and Tiller (2000) supposedly
gave a more accurate expression of the liquid velocity prole. However,
there is an error in their basic equation (i.e. their Eq. (11)), namely,
some of the quantities used to dene the dimensionless variables of Eq.
(11) such as the ltration velocity (or the ow rate of ltrate) and cake
thickness are functions of time and not constant.
C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336 1329
Fig. 4. Liquid velocity proles q

=q

m
vs. x=L across Hong Kong Kaolin cakes. p
0
= 100; 000P
a
; c
0
= 0:15.

Overlapped.
5.2. Pressure drop across lter cake, p
c
In applying Eq. (f) of Table 1,
av
is calculated accord-
ing to Eq. (d) of Table 1 with the assumption p
c
p
0
.
To justify this assumption, the results of p
c
from the nu-
merical analysis as a function of time for a number of cases
are shown in Fig. 5. As seen from this gure, for all the
three types of lter cakes, p
c
increases with time and ap-
proaches to a constant value which may be close to p
0
de-
pending upon the value of R
0
. In all cases, the initial values
of p
c
are signicantly dierent from p
0
. It therefore seems
that while the approximation, p
c
=p
0
, may be acceptable
in cases such as batch ltration with ltration time up to
2030 min, its use in vacuum rotary ltration, for example,
may lead to errors if the rotating speed is several rounds per
minute.
From Eqs. (6c) and (d) of Table 1 and with (dp

=dp
0
)
= 1,
av
is given as

av
= (1 )
0
p
c
=p
a
(1 + p
c
=p
a
)
1n
1
: (15)
As an example, the % error of the calculated
av
using
the approximation p
c
=p
0
as a function of p
c
for Hong
Kong Kaolin cakes with p
0
=100; 000 Pa is given in Table
4. Even with p
c
being within 10% of p
0
, the error in
av
can be as large as 10%.
5.3. Solidosity prole, average solidosity
s
and wet cake
to dry cake mass ratio, m
av
The knowledge of m
av
is required in applying Eq. (f)
(Table 1) for predicting ltration performance. As shown
1330 C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336
Fig. 5. Pressure drop across lter cake, p
c
vs. Time, t. p
0
= 100; 000P
a
: (a) Hong Kong Kaolin, c
0
= 0:15, (b) Kaolin, c
0
= 0:23, and (c) colloidal
silica, c
0
= 0:02.
Table 4
Error in the calculation of
av
based on the assumption p
c
= p
0
Hong
Kong Kaolin cake, p
0
= 100; 000 Pa
p
c

av
=[(1 n)
0
] % Error
100,000 8.5082
90,000 7.7653 9.57
80,000 6.5678 29.54
60,000 5.7282 48.53
40,000 4.7158 80.42
by Eq. (b) (Table 1), m
av
is directed related to the average
cake solidosity,
s
which, in turn, is dependent upon the
solidosity prole (i.e. Eq. (c), Table 1).
The solidosity prole obtained from the numerical results
for the three types of cakes are shown in Fig. 6. For a given
lter cake type, the
s
-prole changes with time and depends
on the mediumresistance. Also included in this gure are the
results according to the approximate expression of Eq. (14b).
The approximate expression is time-invariant and obtained
on the constant q

assumption. Intuitively, one would expect

that Eq. (14b), should give results which approximate the
numerical results as time increases and/or R
0
increases. The
comparisons does conform to this expectation.
The values of the spatially averaged
s
or
s
as dened by
Eq. (c) (Table 1) is a function of time. The results for the
three types of lter cakes are shown in Fig. 7. Also included
are the value of
s
according to Eq. (7). The results shown
in this gure demonstrate clearly that
s
is a monotonically
increasing function of time and depends strongly on the
media resistance parameter. At time increases, it tends to
approach a constant value. It is relatively independent on
the suspension particle concentration (see Fig. 7d), but it
is always less than the stress-averaged
s
or
s
, (dened by
Eq. (7)) which is commonly used as an approximation of
C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336 1331
Fig. 6. Solidosity proles, vs. x=L of Hong Kong Kaolin, Kaolin and colloidal silica cakes, p
0
= 100; 000 Pa: (a) At t = 100 s, and (b) at t = 1000 s.
Fig. 7. Average cake solidosity,
s
vs. Time: (a) Hong Kong Kaolin, c
0
=0:23, (b) Kaolin, c
0
=0:23, (c) colloidal silica, c
0
=0:02, and (d) Hong Kong
Kaolin, c
0
= 0:15.
1332 C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336
Fig. 8. Wet cake to dry cake mass ratio, m as a function of time (1=m
av
vs. t) of Hong Kong Kaolin (c
0
=0:15), Kaolin (c
0
=0:23), and colloidal silica
(c
0
= 0:02) cakes, p
0
= 100; 000 Pa,
s
= 1500 kg=m
3
. (a) R
0
= 10, (b) R
0
= 100, and (c) R
0
= 1000:

s
. From Eq. (7), one may write

s
=
1
p
c
_
p
c
0

s
dp
s
=
1
L
_
p
c
0

s
d(p
s
=p
c
)
d(x=L)
dx: (16)
Thus
s
and
s
become the same if dp
s
=dx = p
c
=L.
According to Eq. (16),
s
is the average value of
s
over a
cake of thickness of L with the dimensionless stress gradient
as the weighting factor. Since
s
increases with the increase
of the cake compactness which, in turn, is caused by the
stress gradient, an average of
s
with the stress gradient as the
weighting factor can be expected greater than the quantity
dened by Eq. (d) (Table 1), i.e.,
s
. As the cake thickness,
L, is a monotonically decreasing function of
s
(see Eq. (9)),
the error introduced in predicting cake thickness using
s
as
an approximation of
s
can be substantial. This point will be
discussed later.
In applying the conventional theory (for example, Eqs. (f)
(Table 1) and (11)), the value of the wet cake to dry cake
mass ratio, m
av
, is required. By its denition (see Eq. (b)
(Table 1)), for a given cake type, m
av
can be seen to be a
monotonically decreasing function of
s
. Some of the results
of m
av
obtained from the numerical analysis are presented
in Fig. 8 (in the format of 1=m
av
vs. time). It is clear that m
av
does approach to a constant value quickly if R
0
is suciently
large. There is a dierence between m
av
and that obtained
using
s
as an approximation of
s
.
From these comparisons, it is clear that the assump-
tions used in formulating and applying the conventional
theory are not always justied. Signicant deviations from
these assumptions were observed especially during the ini-
tial period of ltration, if the medium resistance is high
or the cake thickness is thin. Thus one may expect the
C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336 1333
Fig. 9. Comparisons of performance predictions from the theory with numerical analysis results Hong Kong Kaolin, c
0
= 0:15, p
0
= 100; 000 Pa: (a)
total ltrate, V, vs. time, and (b) cake thickness, L vs. time.
Fig. 10. Comparisons of performance predictions from the conventional theory with numerical analysis results, Kaolin, c
0
= 0:23, p
0
= 100; 000 Pa: (a)
Total ltrate, V, vs. time, and (b) cake thickness, L with time.
1334 C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336
Fig. 11. Comparisons of performance predictions from the conventional theory with numerical analysis results, colloidal silica, c
0
=0:02, p
0
=100; 000 Pa:
(a) total ltrate vs. time and (b) cake thickness, L vs. time.
conventional theory satisfactory for batch ltration carried
out in lter presses but must exercise caution if the theory
is to be applied to equipments of dierent congurations
such as rotary lters rotating at relatively high speed (sev-
eral rounds per minute) and/or with thin cake formations.
It also seems likely that the conventional theory should not
be applied to cross-ow membrane ltration without fur-
ther modications. The tangential shear stress eect along
the suspension/cake interface in cross-ow tends to carry
away some of the accumulated particles near the membrane
surface. As a result, the cake formed is likely to persist in a
state akin to the initial state found in the so-called dead-end
operation.
6. Prediction of ltration performance and the
improvement of the conventional theory
Filtration performance is commonly dened by the history
of the total ltrate volume, V vs. time and the cake thickness,
L vs. time. From the conventional theory, they can be found
from Eqs. (f) (Table 1) (V vs. t) and (11) (L vs. time).
Often, these two equations are further simplied by ignoring
the medium resistance to give
V

=
_
2p
0
(1 m
av
s)t
s
av
_
1=2
; (17a)
L

=
1
(
s
=) 1
_
zp
0
(1 m
av
s)t
s
av
_
1=2
: (17b)
Comparisons between the predicted performance from the
numerical analysis and from the conventional theory are
shown in Figs. 911 for the Hong Kong Kaolin, Kaolin and
Colloidal Silica suspensions, respectively. The conventional
theory predictions (i.e. Eqs. (f) (Table 1) and (11)) are
based on the assumption stated previously, namely
(1 m
av
s)
1
(
p
)

= (1 m
av
s)
1

av

av
is evaluated from Eq. (d) (Table 1) with p
c
p
0
and
m
av
from Eq. (b) (Table 1) with
s
(from Eq. (7)) replacing

s
.
The comparisons shown in these gures indicate clearly
that regardless of the suspensions to be ltered, the con-
ventional theory consistently under-predicts ltration per-
formance. An obvious reason for this under-prediction is the
use of p
0
in approximating p
c
in the estimation of the av-
erage specic cake resistance,
av
. As a result, the value of
C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336 1335
Table 5
Summary of equations from the conventional theory
(1) Total ltrate volume vs. time
s(1 m
av
s)
1

av
V
2
2
+ R
m
V = p
0
t. (f), Table 1
(2) Cake thickness vs. time
us(1 m
av
s)
1
(
av
)(1=2)
_

s

s
1
_
2
L
2
+ R
m
_

s

s
1
_
L = p
0
t. (11)
(3) Solidosity prole

0
s
=
__
_
1 +
p
s
m
p
s
a
_
1
1
_
_
1
x
L
_
+ 1
_
=(1)
(14)
(4) Pressure drop across cake
p
c
p
0
=
s[1 m
av
s]
1
[
av
]V
s[1 m
av
s]
1
[
av
]V + R
m
. (12)
(5) Average cake solidosity and wet cake to dry cake mass

s
=
_
L
0

s
dx
L
, (c), Table 1
m
av
=

s

s
+ (1
s
)

s
. (b), Table 1
(6) Average specic cake resistance
[
av
] =
p
c
_
p
c
0
1

dp
s
. (d), Table 1

av
is overestimated and therefore the performance is under
predicted. This eect is, however, somewhat ameliorated by
the use of
s
(i.e. Eq. (7)) in estimating m
av
. As m
av
decreases
with the increase of
s
, the value of (1 m
av
s)
1
based on

s
can be expected to be less than the correct value. These
two assumptions, therefore, may compensate each other to a
degree. In the estimation of L vs. t, on the other hand, the use
of
s
in approximating
s
in the calculation of [(
s
=c
0
) 1]
(see Eq. (11)) leads to signicant errors in the estimated
L vs. time relationship. This dierence is shown clearly by
comparing the dierences observed in Fig. 9a (or Figs. 10a
and 11a) with those of Fig. 9b (or Figs. 10b and 11b).
As a result of these comparisons, a possible improvement
of the manner of applying Eqs. (f) (Table 1) and (11) is
proposed. To facilitate the discussion, the relevant equations
based on the conventional theory are summarized in Table
5. The improvement is to be made through a more accurate
estimation of the quantity (1 m
av
s)
1
(
a
). One may begin
calculations with Eqs. (f) (Table 1) and (11) using the ap-
proximations p
c
p
0
and
s

s
to obtain relationships
of V vs. t and L vs. t. From the V vs. t results, an estima-
tion of p
c
vs. time (or V) can be obtained according to
Eq. (12). Similarly, based on the L vs. t relationship, the
solidosity proles at dierent times (or V) can be estimated
from Eq. (14b) and
s
can then be estimated (according to
Eq. (C), (Table 1)). These calculations give the values of
[(1m
av
s)
1
(
av
)] vs. t (or V) from which a better estimate
of the quantity (1 m
av
s)
1
(
av
) can be obtained according
to Eq. (g) (Table 1). This new value of (1 m
av
s)
1
(
av
)
can then be used to obtain new estimates of V vs. t and L
vs. t. The procedure may be repeated if desired. Sample cal-
culation results according to this procedure are also given
in Figs. 911. It was found that approximate results after
one iteration are very close to the predictions based on the
numerical analysis.
7. Conclusions
An assessment of the validity of the assumptions used in
developing the conventional ltration theory was made by
comparing the results based on the conventional theory with
those obtained from exact numerical analysis. The compar-
isons reveal that the results from the conventional theory
do not always conform to the results of the more exact nu-
merical analysis. The variation of the liquid velocity across
lter cakes may be as large as 15% and signicant particle
movement was found in regions close to the suspension
cake interface. Depending upon the system variables and the
operating conditions, the conventional theory may not give
suciently accurate results.
An attempt was made to improve the predictive accuracy
of the conventional theory. The improvement is based on a
better estimation of the average specic cake resistance and
the wet cake to dry cake mass ratio through iterative calcu-
lations. In comparison with the commonly used procedure,
1336 C. Tien, R. Bai / Chemical Engineering Science 58 (2003) 13231336
the improved procedure is found to give predictions with
greater accuracy.
Notation
c
0
solid fraction (volume) of suspension
k cake permeability
k
0
cake permeability in the zero-stress state
L cake thickness
m local wet cake to dry cake mass ratio
m
av
wet cake to dry cake mass ratio
n exponent of Eq. (6c)
p
0
total pressure drop
p
a
constant of the constitutive equations
(Eqs. (6a)(6c))
p
c
pressure drop across lter cake
p
c
pressure drop across medium
p

pore liquid pressure

p
s
compressive stress
q

liquid supercial velocity

q
s
solid supercial velocity
q

m
liquid velocity across the medium
R
m
medium ow resistance
s solid fraction (mass) of suspension
t time
V total ltrate volume per unit medium area
w mass of cake particles per unit medium area
x distance measured from the cakemedium interface
Greek letters
specic cake resistance

av
average specic cake resistance dened by
Eq. (d), Table 1

0
specic cake resistance at the zero stress state
exponent of Eq. (6a)
exponent of Eq. (6b)

s
cake solidosity

0
s
cake solidosity at the zero-stress state

s
stress-averaged solidosity
(dened by Eq. (7))

s
average cake solidosity
(dened by Eq. (c), Table 1)
liquid viscosity
liquid density

s
particle density
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