Example 12.

2: A slurry is filtered in a plate and frame press, containing 12 frames, each having a square
cross section with 0.3 m in length and width, and 25 mm thick. During the first 200 seconds, the filtration
pressure is slowly raised to a final value of 500 kN/m 2, and during this period the rate of filtration is kept
constant. After the initial period, filtration is carried out at constant pressure, and the cake is completely
formed in a further 900 seconds. The cakes are then washed at 375 kN/m2 for 600 seconds using
thorough washing. What is the volume of the filtrate collected per cycle and how much wash water is
used? Given L/v = 0.35 cm, rv = 7.1310-4kNsm2/cm6
Solution:

Cross-sectional area of bed, A, can be found as follows:

And total pressure drop can be determined to be

The constants B1 and B2 can be found for constant rate operation as

And volume of filtrate collected at the end of constant filtration rate period can be found to be

In the second step, filtration is conducted at constant pressure. Properties of cake and cloth and filtrate
do not change. The values of B1 and B2 for constant pressure operation can be found as

A modified equation is used when constant filtration rate filtration is followed by constant pressure
filtration. In this case volume collected at time t is V. This volume contains filtrate from both kinds of
operations.

The above equation is quadratic in V and can be rewritten as

After a total time, t2, of 1100 s

Final rate of filtration is found from Equation 12.9 given below

Cake washing may be done at a pressure less than the filtration pressure. Cake is washed at a rate that
is proportional to the final filtration rate. If washing pressure is P3, then washing rate can be estimated as

At washing pressure of 375 kN/m2, washing rate can be found to be 24.32 cm 3/s. If cake is washed for a
period of t3, water requirement can be estimated as

For current washing time of 600 s, water requirement is 1.459104 cm3.