Clay Minerals (1973) 10t 99.

THICKENING FLOCCULATED KAOLINITE S L U R R I E S IN T H E N O Z Z L E D I S C H A R G E , M U L T I DISC, BOWL CENTRIFUGE

R. E. B R O C I N E R AND E. C. V O L L A N S

Research Laboratories, English Clays Lovering Pochin & Co. Ltd, St ,4ustell

(Received 9 November 1972; revised May 1973)

ABSTRACT: Three semi-empirical equations are derived to characterize the performance of the nozzle discharge centrifuge as a thickener for flocculated kaolinite slurries. The first equation relates mass throughput to machine size and speed, the number and size of nozzles and the product concentration. The second equation relates the maximum clear effluent rate to the settling characteristics of the slurry and to machine parameters. The third equation relates power consumption to product and effluent rates and to machine parameters. Finally a numerical example of the use of the equations is given.

INTRODUCTION Thickening of clay slurries is most commonly used as a method of increasing the solids concentration of the feed to a filterpress. A recessed plate, or plate and frame, filter can be considered as a constant pressure filter with a constant final cake thickness. Ignoring the resistance to flow of filtrate due to the filter medium:
t rfl = 2AAp

(1)

For the special condition of the fixed volume chamber filter, the time of filtration is proportional to the volume of filtrate removed. Filtration of a commercial china clay at a pressure of 1.137 M N m - z (150 p.s.i.g.) produced a filtercake with a water content of 30 ~o (w/w) (Gwilliam, 1971). The filtrate volume per unit weight of dry clay in the filtercake can be calculated. Where the filtered solids are the end product, the power and capital costs are inversely proportional to the output rate, so that increasing the feed concentration reduces filtration costs. The theological properties of flocculated china clay set an upper limit of 40 ~o (w/w) on the concentration of feed to the filterpress. Above this concentration the suspension becomes too viscous to be pumped by centrifugal pumps. Moreover the benefit resulting from further concentration rapidly

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R. E. Brociner and E. C. Vollans

diminishes due to the small a m o u n t o f w a t e r r e m a i n i n g in the suspension. These factors are illustrated in T a b l e 1. TABLE 1. Capital and power costs related to feed concentration and to filtrate volume per unit weight of dry clay Concentration of clay in feed to filterpress (w/w ~) Volume of filtrate per unit weight of dry clay (m3/kg) 18"7 x 8-7 x 5.7x 3"7x 2"0 1"2 x 10-3 10-3 10-3 10-3 10-3 10-3 Relative capital and power costs (arbitrary units)

5 10 15 20 30 40

15-6 7-3 4-8 3-1 1"7 1

W h e n a flocculated c h i n a clay slurry is c o n c e n t r a t e d b y settling in thickening t a n k s the settling rate is inversely p r o p o r t i o n a l to the feed c o n c e n t r a t i o n w h e n the feed c o n c e n t r a t i o n is low. A b o v e 6 ~o c o n c e n t r a t i o n ( w / w ) the settling r a t e decreases m o r e r a p i d l y as the c o n c e n t r a t i o n increases until at a b o u t 12 ~o (w/w) the very slow settling rate o f the floc c o m p r e s s i o n stage is reached. This behaviour, which is typical o f suspen-

1.00

1.02

104

106

1-08

1.10

,of
I I I I I I

0-03

006

0.09

012

015

FzG. 1. A typical relation between the settling rate and concentration for a flocculated fine mineral suspension such as kaolinite.

Thickening kaolinite slurries in the nozzle discharge centrifuge

101

sions of fine mineral particles (Coe & Clevenger, 1970) is illustrated in Fig. 1. When the rate of settling reduces to the floe compression rate further concentration of the slurry by gravity thickening becomes uneconomic. Centrifugal thickening, which increases the pressure on the floes in the sediment, possesses the potential of higher product concentrations than does gravity thickening. The nozzle discharge centrifuge (Fig. 2) is the most suitable machine for the continuous thickening of aqueous suspensions of flocculated minerals of small (< 15/zm) ultimate particle size. Scroll discharge centrifuges give poor effluent clarities with suspensions as fine as commercial china clay although they are used to dewater coarser solid suspensions. Solid bowl machines produce a semi-solid cake which must be discharged periodically. The inadequate understanding of the behaviour of flocculated slurries in centrifuges prevents theoretical performance predictions. The Z factor concept (Ambler, 1952) can be used for particles settling in a centrifuge of simple geometry in accordance with Stokes' Law. For a solid bowl centrifuge, with a thin depth of liquid, the volumetric feed rate to ensure that all particles coarser than a specified size are separated is given by Q where: Q = v2; (2) v is the free settling velocity of the specified particle in the gravitational field and is equal to the area of a gravity settling tank with the same separating capacity as the centrifuge. N is given by: V'. L g _l AR (3) Equation (2) has been modified empirically (Murkes, 1966) to apply to the geometrically more complex multi-disc, bowl centrifuge. Murkes gives: Q -- v k g J 4120 ~

r"' l E"]

1.s N c o t ~

R12"75-R22"75

1
.

(4)

Where, Q = throughput (litres per hour); v = Stokes settling velocity of the particle in suspension; [Ro~2/g]= 'G' factor, or ratio of centrifugal to gravitational force; n = machine speed (revolutions per minute); N = number of discs; ~ = the half cone angle of the discs; R t = the outer radius of the disc stack; R 2 = the inner radius of the disc stack. Equation (4) is not dimensionally homogeneous and contains no term to account for the product split into underflow and overflow as a result of the fitting of discharge nozzles. 'v' is an unsuitable parameter for describing the settling behaviour of floes of unknown size and unknown behaviour in the centrifuge. In gravity thickening the feed concentration affects the settling rate. The work reported in this paper develops the relation between centrifuge geometry and thickening capacity. It takes into account the effect of slurry thickening characteristics and the size and number of nozzles on the degree of concentration achieved. In particular it makes it possible to predict centrifuge performance and power consumption for any specific thickening duty.

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R. E. Brociner and E. C. Vollans

<_D
Feed

Product

Nozzle Rotation

j,'

Ft~. 2. Diagrammatic vertical and horizontal sections of the nozzle discharge, multi, disc centrifuge.

Thickening kaolinite slurries in the nozzle discharge centrifuge 103

T H E M E C H A N I S M OF T H I C K E N I N G I N T H E N O Z Z L E , DISC CENTRIFUGE The feed suspension enters at the axis of rotation and flows to the base of the bowl. As the bowl fills liquid is discharged from the nozzles because of the pressure resulting from the centrifugal force. Provided that the feed rate to the centrifuge exceeds the nozzle discharge rate some of the liquid flows up between the discs and exits through the effluent discharge ports, close to the axis of rotation. Between the discs the flocs are accelerated radially outward so that the solids concentrate on the underside of the discs while the clear effluent appears on the upper disc surfaces. The difference in specific gravity of the clear effluent and the concentrated suspension causes the concentrate to flow down the discs towards the bowl circumference, while the effluent flows up the discs to the discharge port. At the outer circumference of the discs the concentrate streams through the incoming suspension. The residence time of the concentrated suspension is determined by the centrifugal pressure at the bowl circumference and also the number and diameter of nozzles. The longer the residence time, the higher will be the concentration of the product provided that the limit of floc compression has not been reached. In practice the desired degree of slurry concentration may be achieved in a number of ways. (i) The correct choice of operating parameters entails only one pass through the machine. (ii) If a small nozzle size is required for one pass thickening, with a consequent danger of nozzle blocking, larger nozzles can be used. A portion of the product would then need to be recycled to the feed. (iii) Two or more machines could be run in series. In (i) the minimum amount of liquid is accelerated to the bowl circumference it would probably represent the case of most efficient energy utilization. The factors causing the precise behaviour of the flocculated suspension in the centrifuge are unknown making it necessary to utilize a number of simplifying assumptions. These are as follows. 0) Under equilibrium conditions a clear fluid, suspension interface is located within the machine. An increase in the feed rate would move the interface in the direction of the effluent discharge port and result in a turbid effluent. (ii) The rate of concentration is a linear function of the feed concentration and this relation holds to higher values of concentration than in the case of gravity thickening. (iii) Under the high shear rate conditions in the nozzle the concentration changes due to different operating conditions do not change the viscosity of the suspension. Because flocculated china clay is shear thinning this assumption is not unreasonable. It also means that the viscosity of the suspension in the nozzle will be low.

Mass throughput

The pressure at the wall of a centrifuge running full of liquid is given by (Coulson & Richardson, 1955)"
p ~ poj2R 2 .

(5)

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R. E. Brociner and E. C. Vollans

During the trials, using china clay suspensions, the flow conditions in the nozzle gave high Reynolds numbers so that the viscosity of the suspension had little influence on the flow velocity. The flow velocity can thus be given by: Velocity ~ [ P ] 89. (6)

For a centrifug e fitted with 'n' nozzles of diameter 'd' equations (5) and (6) can be combined to give the volume flow rate from the nozzles as: Vp ~ ~oRnd2 . (7)

The mass flow rate M of clay can be obtained from the specific gravity pp of the nozzle product suspension and the concentration, e, of the clay in the suspension as:
M = Vppvc x 10 3

(8)

and for china clay water slurries the relation between concentration and slurry specific gravity is given by: l'6(p~-- 1) c(9) Pp Combining equation (7), (8) and (9) the mass throughput of the centrifuge becomes:
M = K l , o ~ d 2 ( p , - 1). (10)

Provided no solids are lost in the effluent, equation (10) gives the mass throughput of the centrifuge in terms of machine parameters and product specific gravity.
Effluent volume rate

The settling behaviour of flocculated china clay at low concentration is similar to other mineral suspensions. The settling rates for aqueous calcium carbonate suspensions over a volume concentration range of 1-8 ~ , (Coulson & Richardson, 1955) show a relation of settling to initial concentration similar to that found for china clay suspension (see Fig. 1). The settling rate, s, in this concentration range can be described by:
s = kl-k2e,

(11)

where k 1 and k 2 a r e constants. During centrifugal thickening the settling rate shouldincrease proportionatelytothe ratio of centrifugal to gravitational acceleration. Introducing this factor into equation (1 t) and substituting slurry specific gravities for concentration gives: kt - k 2 (12) kgl Pf J At steady state the m a x i m u m effluent velocity must equal the settling rate of the sc~

Thickening kaolinite slurries in the nozzle discharge centrifuge 105

suspension. Consequently the maximum, solids free, effluent volume rate possible will be given by"
Ve = m 2 R
K2

rKz-K3 P Pr1 ]d"

(13)

and K a depend only on the settling behaviour of the clay suspension.

Power consumption

The power used by the centrifuge is determined by the mass of suspension which is accelerated and by energy dissipated in air and drive friction. The nozzle product is accelerated to the peripheral velocity of the bowl. The rate of energy supplied is:
t.oZR2 Vppp.

The nozzle product is ejected tangentially to the centrifuge bowl, but approximately half the kinetic energy is recovered by the reaction on the bowl since some energy is dissipated within the nozzles by fluid friction. The power needed for the nozzle product will be: P1 = K4~2R2VI, pp 9 (14) K4 is a proportionality constant allowing for the energy recovery less nozzle friction energy dissipation. The effluent returns to the centre of rotation of the centrifuge before it is discharged so that the net energy expenditure is due to fluid friction losses within the machine (mainly between the discs). Hence the power needed for the effluent will be:
P2 = K5c~ 9
(15)

K 5 is a proportionality constant allowing for fluid friction energy dissipation. For convenience let the drive and air friction be assumed to be: P3
= K6 c~ 9

(16)

The total power consumption of the machine will be given by combining equations (14), (15) and (16): P = m2R 2 [X4Vppp+XsVe+K6]. (17)
The nozzle reaction effect

The nozzle reaction effect provides an alternative method of calculating K4 without direct measurement of power. The power supplied to the undertow will be the product of half the kinetic energy per unit mass and the mass flow rate of the underflow. The kinetic energy is halved because of the reaction upon the centrifuge bowl of the tangentially ejected undertow. The kinetic energy per unit mass is given by:
to2R 2

106

R. E. Brociner and E. C. Vollans

and the underflow mass flow rate is given by"

v.p,.
The power to the underftow is:
eo2R 2 P 1 -- -

v.p.

(18)

equating (18) with (14) to determine K4: to2R 2 2 VrPP = ~ /s = 0.25. The value of K4 being identical to that determined experimentally. EXPERIMENTAL An Alfa-Laval QX210 centrifuge was used to thicken English China Clays S.P.S. grade clay suspension. The centrifuge had an internal bowl diameter of 0.475 m and a speed of 633 rad s- ~. It was fitted with eighty discs and provision for twelve nozzles around the circumference of the bowl. Nozzles were available with diameters of 1.0-1.5 mm. The clay suspension fed to the centrifuge had a concentration range of 3-16% which corresponds to a slurry specific gravity range of 1.02-1.12. The slurry pH was adjusted to 3-5 to ensure flocculation of the clay. The chemical analysis of the clay was" Si02, 46-2%; A1203, 38.7~; Fez0a, 0"56~; Ca0, 0.2~; Mg0, 0"2~o; K20, 1.01%; Na20, 0.07 %. Mineralogically the clay was kaolinite with traces of felspar, muscovite mica, quartz and montmorillonite. 80 % of the particles by weight were finer than 2 t~m measured by Stokes sedimentation. Not more than 0.2 % by weight were larger than 10/~m. Flow rates to and from the centrifuge were measured using electromagnetic flow meters. Concentrations of feed slurry and nozzle product were measured by hydrometer. The concentration of clay in the overflow was measured by comparative turbidity and by gravimetric methods. Centrifuge speed was measured by a fitted tachometer and centrifuge power was measured by electrical power measurement corrected for power factor and motor efficiency.
Results Mass throughput. The resuRs of plotting the mass throughput against nd2(pp u 1) are given in Fig. 3. Only a small proportion of all results obtained are given to illustrate the technique. The value of K~ in equation (10) can be calculated from the known values of R, o~and using Fig. 3. Equation (10) becomes:

M = 1.18 103 oJRnd2(pv - 1).

(10a)

Thickening kaolinite slurries in the nozzle discharge centrifuge

I-O--

107

0-8 o o A& x

06
xl 0 0 Xo

~
0.4 o x 0 X

ox

ox o

0.2

0.0rh,..

I I

I 2
nd 2

I 3

I 4

I ,5

(fp-l)

FIG. 3. Relation between product mass flow (M) and nozzle diameter (d), number of nozzles (n) and product specific gravity (pp). x, One pass, d = 1"15 mm; O, one pass, d = 1"3mm; A, one pass, d = 1-45 mm; 0 , recirculation, d = I"3 mm; 9 recirculation, d = 1"45 mm.

The maximum clear effluent rate. Because of the difficulty in determining the point o f change between the absence and the appearance o f clay in the effluent, a value o f 250 p.p.m, of solids was chosen as the effluent quality standard and assessed during the experiments by turbidity comparisons against k n o w n standards. Values o f the effluent rate with 250 p.p.m, by weight of clay are plotted against feed slurry solids concentration in Fig. 4. Using these results the values of K2 and/(3 in equation (13) are calculated to give:
I'-

ve -- o~2R/2"79 10 - 8 - 1 . 8 6 10 -7 Or - 1 1 .
L Pf J

(13a)

It must be emphasized that the machine can be operated with effluent volume rates above or below Ve as determined by equation (13a). At lower rates the maximum thickening capacity of the centrifuge is not utilized. At higher rates the solids concentration of clay in the effluent will increase. The power consumption. Provided that the machine is running full of liquid, the nozzle volume rate will be approximately constant for a feed nozzle size and machine speed. Power consumption measurements taken during stepwise feed rate reductions, with consequent effluent rate reduction can be plotted as Ve against power (see Fig. 5). Such a plot gives the total machine power consumption attributable to the nozzle product, drive friction and windage. The value of the latter terms can be determined by

108

R. E. Brociner and E. C. Vollans

running the centrifuge empty. The results are used to calculate/s equation (17) to give:
P = r z [0"25Vppp+O'44Ve+4.95 10- 5].

Ks and/s (17a)

in

5-

X X

'0 2-x
tu~

O~X x
g~
x ~ A X
X
~ ~ o

x&
X X XO

00

102

104

1.06

108

I10

1.12

e,
FIG. 4. Relation between the maximum clear effluent volume rate (Ire) and feed slurry specific gravity (P0. x , One pass, d = 1.15 ram; O, one pass, d = 1"3 nma; A , one pass, d = 1"45 ram.

3i-

o o

0 x To~

2-

%
-o o

12

13

14

15

16

17"

18

19

P (kw)

Fla. 5. Relation between effluent volume rate (Ve) and machine power consumption (P) for a fixed machine speed and nozzle size.

Thickening kaolinite slurries in the nozzle discharge centrifuge

L I M I T A T I O N S TO T H E USE OF T H E E Q U A T I O N S

109

To predict the performance of different machines, geometric similarity is assumed. If R changes in a geometrically similar machine the height of the bowl will also change. These changes will alter the separation of the discs unless their thickness is varied. If the thickness of the discs remains constant then the number of discs which can be fitted will be slightly larger than that predicted from a direct scale up. A correction factor can then be applied to the equation to give:
/--

[~

Nz R2-]

l'18

(lOb)

V~=

14N1

m2R2 2"79x10-8-1"86x10 - 7 p r PS A

P= [

2 j ~.a N2- N /1 R2"]

L 'R211.88215176

1+

'R14.95
(17b)

If a mineral suspension with different settling characteristics is to be processed then these must be redetermined. The numerical values of K 2 and K 3 in equation (13b) only apply to the S.P.S. grade china clay flocculated by pH control. A N U M E R I C A L E X A M P L E OF T H E USE OF E Q U A T I O N S (10A), (13A) A N D (17A) Given a thickening duty of concentrating a flocculated aqueous suspension of S.P.S. china clay from a specific gravity of 1.05 (7-5 % wt/wt concentration) to a specific gravity of 1.15 (21% wt/wt concentration) using a multi disc nozzle discharge centrifuge with the following parameters: (i) speed = 633 rad s-i ; (ii) radius = 0.2375 ram; (iii) number of discs = 80 (the same as the test machine), the following must be calculated: (i) the throughput rate (as dry clay); (ii) the feed, product and effluent volume rates; (iii) the number ond size of nozzles required; (iv) the power consumption of the machine. Substituting values into equation (13a): Ve = 95165 2.79x 1 0 - 8 - 1 . 8 6 x 10 .7 1.05J Ve = 1"81 x 10-am3s -1 A volume balance gives:

vs= re+v,
and using the value of V~ just determined: Vy = 1.81 10-3+ Vp. (19)

110

R. E. Brociner and E. C. Vollans

At steady mass flow:

Vf(pf -- 1) = Vp(p~-1)
rearranging:

Vi= V. pp-1
pf -- 1

substituting for V from (18) and values for pp and Pl gives: I 1.81x 1 0 - a + Vp = 3Vp
Vp = 0-91x 10 -3 m3s -1

and from (18): VI = 2.72 10-3 m3s -1 . The mass throughput can be obtained f r o m tip, p~ and equation (9):
M = V p ( p p - 1) 1.6 x 103

M = 0.91 x 0 . 1 5 x 1-6 M = 0-22 kg s - 1 . The nozzle size is obtained by substituting the value of M just derived into equation (10a) so that: 0.22 = 1.18 x 103 150 so that for twelve nozzles:
d z = 6-9 x 10 -7

d=8.3xl0-*m. The power consumption is obtained by substituting the value found above for Vp and Ve together with the value ofpp and ~o2R2 into equation (17a): P = 2.26 x 10" [0.25 x 0-91 x 1 0 - 3 x 1.15 x 0.044 1.81 x 10-3 x 4.95 x 10-5] P = 8.83 k w . CONCLUSIONS Three semi-empirical equations have been developed describing the performance of a multi-disc, nozzle discharge centrifuge, thickening flocculated mineral slurry. The values of the constants in these equations have been obtained for an AlfaLaval QX210 centrifuge and for S.P.S. grade Cornish china clay. The value of one constant in the power consumption equation has been evaluated theoretically and found to agree with the experimentally determined value. The equations can be used for the design of centrifugal thickening plants.

Thickening kaolinite slurries in the nozzle discharge centrifuge 111

APPENDIX

List of Symbols
A = M = N --P --R = V = V' = VI = Ve = Vp --e -d = l = n = p -Ap -r --s = s c --9/ -= p -pf -pp --o~ = area of filter (m z) mass throughput (dry solids) of centrifuge (kg s - 1) n u m b e r of discs fitted to centrifuge power consumption of centrifuge (kw) radius o f centrifuge (m) cumulative filtrate volume (m 3) volume o f centrifuge bowl (m 3) volume feed rate to centrifuge (m 3 s -1) volume effluent rate from centrifuge (m 3 s-1) volume nozzle product rate f r o m centrifuge (m 3 s-1) fractional solids concentration nozzle diameter (m) thickness of filtercake (In) n u m b e r o f nozzles fitted pressure (N m - 2 ) pressure difference across filtercake (N m -2) specific resistance of filtercake (N m - z ) settling rate of flocculated mineral suspension (m s-1) settling rate o f flocculated mineral suspension in the centrifuge (m s - 1) viscocity (N s m - 2) specific gravity specific gravity of feed to centrifuge specific gravity of nozzle product f r o m centrifuge angular velocity of centrifuge (rad s - 1) = ratio of centrifugal to gravity acceleration at R

gA The constants and their dimensions

K1 = K2] = K3 J /s ML-3 LZT- 1

Ks
Ka

___ M L - a = M T -1 L T -1

kl / = k2

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This p a p e r is printed by kind permission of the directors of English Clays Lovering Pochin & Co. Ltd.

112

R. E. Brociner and E. C. Vollans

REFERENCES

AMBLERC.M. (1952) Chem. Eng. Proc. 48, 150. COE I-I.S. t~ CLEVENGERG.H. (1970) Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Engrs. 55, 356. COULSONJ.M. RICHARDSON~.F. (1955) ChemicalEngineering, Vol. 2, pp. 459 and 514. McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., New York and London. GWILLIAM R.D. (1971) Filtr. Separ. 8, No. 2, 181. Mt~RKES J. (1966) Filtr. Separ. 3, No. 2, 112.