Filtra'on
–
Lecture
2


CH
2040
–
Mechanical
Opera'ons

Basavaraj
M.
Gurappa

Department
of
chemical
engineering

IIT‐Madras

 Principles
of
cake
filtra'on


What
are
the
measurable
quan''es
that
change
during
the

course
of
filtra'on?

1.
Flow
rate

2.
Pressure
drop



Chief
quan''es
of
interest
are
–
flow
rate
through
filter
and

pressure
drop
across
the
unit


Constant
Pressure
Filtra/on
–
Pressure
drop
is
kept
constant

and
the
flow
rate
is
allowed
to
fall
with
'me


Constant
Rate
Filtra/on
–
The
pressure
drop
is
progressively

increased
to
keep
constant
filtra'on
rate

 Principles
of
cake
filtra'on


What
offers
resistance
to
flow
of
liquids
through
cake
filters?


1.  Filter
cake

2.  Filter
medium

These
two
resistances
are
in
series




The
 cake
 resistance
 is
 zero
 at
 the
 start
 Filter
Medium


and
 increases
 with
 'me
 as
 the
 filtra'on
 Filter
Cake


proceeds

Pa


Direc'on
of
flow
of
slurry

Total
pressure
drop


ΔP=(Pa
‐
P’)
+
(P’
‐
Pb)
 Filtrate

ΔP=ΔPc
+
ΔPm
 P’

=
 Pressure
 drop
 over
 cake
 +
 Pb

Pressure
drop
over
medium

 Principles
of
cake
filtra'on


Pressure
drop
through
filter
cake

Sec'on
 through
 a
 filter
 cake
 and
 medium
 at
 'me
 t
 from
 the
 start
 of

filtra'on
or
from
the
start
of
flow
of
filtrate

Lc
–
thickness
of
the
cake
measured
from
the
filter
medium

A
–
filter
area
measured
perpendicular
to
the
direc'on
of
flow


Consider
 a
 thin
 layer
 of
 cake
 of
 thickness


dL
 in
 the
 cake
 at
 a
 distance
 L
 from
 the

medium.


p
–
pressure
at
this
point

Principles
of
cake
filtra'on


Consider
a
thin
layer
of
cake
of
thickness
dL
in

the
cake
at
a
distance
L
from
the
medium.


p
–
pressure
at
this
point


This
 layer
 consists
 of
 a
 thin
 bed
 of
 solids


through
which
the
filtrate
is
flowing



In
 a
 filter
 bed
 the
 flow
 velocity
 is
 sufficiently


low
to
ensure
laminar
flow



dp 150 µu (1 − ε )2
= 2 2
dL Φ s D p ε 3
u
‐
superficial
velocity
of
the
filtrate


Principles
of
cake
filtra'on


dp 150 µu (1 − ε )2
= 2 2
dL Φ s D p ε 3
u
‐
superficial
velocity
of
the
filtrate



dp 4.17 µu(1 − ε )2 (s p / v p )2
=
dL ε3
Defini'on
of
sphericity

sp 6
=
vp Φs Dp

dV / dt
Superficial
velocity
of
the
filtrate,


u =
A
 Principles
of
cake
filtra'on


dp 4.17 µu(1 − ε )2 (s p / v p )2
=
dL ε 3

dV / dt
Superficial
velocity
of
the
filtrate,


u =
A
V
 is
 the
 volume
 of
 the
 filtrate
 collected
 from
 the

start
of
the
filtra'on
to
'me.



Since
 the
 filtrate
 must
 pass
 through
 the
 en're


cake,
 V/A
 is
 same
 for
 all
 layers
 and
 therefore
 u
 is

independent
of
L



Density
of
the
par'cles

The
volume
of
solids
in
the
layer
is


AdL(1 − ε )

Mass
of
solids
in
the
layer
is


dm = AdL(1 − ε )ρ p
Principles
of
cake
filtra'on


dp 4.17 µu(1 − ε ) (s p / v p )
2 2

=
dL ε3
dm = AdL(1 − ε )ρ p

Elimina'ng
dL
from
above
equa'ons


k1µu(1 − ε )(s p / v p )2
dp = dm
ρ p Aε 3
 Compressible
and
incompressible
filter
cakes

In
filtra'on
under
low
pressure
drops
of
slurries
containing
rigid
uniform

par'cles,


k1µu(1 − ε )(s p / v p )
2

dp = dm
ρ p Aε 3

h e 
 s o l i ds

as s
of
 t Constant


 to ta l 
 m
m c
is
the
in
ca ke 
 p k1µu(1 − ε )(s p / v p ) 2
mc
∫ dp = ∫
a
dm
p′ ρ p Aε 3 0

k1µu(1 − ε )(s p / v p )2 mc
pa − p′ = = Δpc
ρ p Aε 3

Filter
cakes
of
this
type
are
called
incompressible


 Compressible
and
incompressible
filter
cakes

k1µu(1 − ε )(s p / v p )2 mc
pa − p′ = = Δpc
ρ p Aε 3

Filter
cakes
of
this
type
are
called
incompressible



Δpc A k1 (s p / v p )2 (1 − ε )
α= Where
 α =
µumc ρ pε 3

α
is
specific
cake
resistance



k2 (1 − ε )
Specific
cake
resistance
in
terms
of
par'cle
size

 α=
ρ p ε (Φ s D p )
3 2
 Compressible
and
incompressible
filter
cakes

Δpc A
α=
µumc
Specific
cake
resistance
α
is
the
resistance
of
the
cake
that
gives
a
unit

pressure
drop
when
μ,
u
and
mc/A
are
all
unity



α
is
influenced
solely
by
the
physical
proper'es
of
the
cake
–
such
as
–

size,
porosity

k1µu(1 − ε )(s p / v p ) mc
2

pa − p′ = = Δpc
ρ p Aε 3

This
expression
may
not
be
precise
–
if
the
feed
does
not
contain
rigid

par'cles.
Porosity,
constant
‐
k1,
and
sp/vp
very
from
layer
to
layer.
Such

filter
 cakes
 are
 called
 compressible.
 α
 varies
 with
 distance
 from
 the

septum
 or
 filter
 medium
 –
 because
 the
 cake
 nearer
 to
 the
 septum
 is

subjected
to
greatest
compressive
force
and
hence
lowest
void
frac'on.

Therefore
pressure
gradient
is
non‐linear




 Filter
medium
resistance

Analogy
with
defini'on
of
cake
resistance



Δpc A
α=
p′ − pb Δpm µumc
Rm = =
µu µu
Factors
that
affect
filter
medium
resistance:


The
 filter
 medium
 resistance
 may
 vary
 with
 pressure
 drop
 –
 larger

pressure
 drops
 cause
 higher
 liquid
 velocity
 and
 may
 force
 addi'onal

solids
into
the
filter
medium


Cleanliness
of
the
filter
medium


But
these
factors
are
important
only
during
ini'al
stages
of
filtra'on
and

its
sa'sfactory
to
assume
that
this
is
constant
during
any
given
filtra'on

process


 Total
pressure
drop

Δpm
Rm =
⎛ mcα ⎞ µu
Δp = Δpc + Δpm = µu ⎜ + Rm ⎟
⎝ A ⎠
Δpc A
α=
µumc
dV / dt
u=
A
If
 c
 is
 the
 mass
 of
 the
 solid
 (par'cles)
 deposited
 in
 the
 filter
 per
 unit

volume
of
the
filtrate
and
V
is
the
total
volume
of
the
filtrate
collected

to
'me
t,
then
mc,
the
total
mass
of
the
solids
in
the
cake
is






mc = Vc
dt µ ⎛ α cV ⎞
= ⎜⎝ + Rm ⎟
dV AΔp A ⎠
 Expression
for
pressure
drop
using
Darcy’s
law


Δp = Δpc + Δpm
L
represents
height
or
length
of
the

cake
 at
 any
 instance
 in
 'me,

µ L dV µ Lm dV subscript
m
denotes
the
medium

Δp = +
A k dt A km dt
The
 medium
 height
 or
 thickness
 and
 permeability
 will
 be
 essen'ally

constant
 during
 filtra'on
 and
 can
 be
 replaced
 by
 constant
 medium

resistance
term
(Rm).

 L
Rm = m

km

Lc And
it
increases
with
increase
in

Similarly,
cake
resistance,
 Rc =
kc cake
height
or
thickness



 Expression
for
pressure
drop
using
Darcy’s
law

dt µ This
 equa'on
 has
 too
 many
 variables
 –

= ( Rc + Rm ) 'me,
 volume,
 cake
 resistance,
 
 and
 in

dV AΔp some
cases
pressure
drop


The
 cake
 resistance
 must
 be
 related
 to


one
of
the
other
variables
–
increase
in

L
 is
 what
 causes
 Rc
 to
 vary
 and
 for

incompressible
cake
filtra'on,
there
will

be
 constant
 volume
 of
 cake
 deposited

per
 volume
 of
 filtrate.
 Therefore
 L
 is

related
to
V


The
 cake
 resistance
 increases
 propor'onally
 with
 increasing
 mass
 or


mass
 per
 unit
 filter
 area
 and
 the
 propor'onality
 constant
 is
 called
 the

specific
resistance
to
filtra'on
‐
α



 Expression
for
pressure
drop
using
Darcy’s
law

dt µ
= ( Rc + Rm )
dV AΔp

Rc = α (W / A)

α
 is
 similar
 to
 equivalent
 length
 used
 for


fiengs
 in
 pipe
 flow
 calcula'ons,
 e.g.,
 an

extra
length
of
pipe
in
resistance
terms
to

account
 for
 the
 extra
 pressure
 drop
 due

to
the
fiengs




 Expression
for
pressure
drop
using
Darcy’s
law

dt µ
= ( Rc + Rm )
dV AΔp
Density
of
solids


W = (LA)(C)ρs
Mass
of
cake
 Mass
frac'on
of
solid


Volume
of
cake

For
incompressible
cake
filtra'on,
the
cake
mass
will
increase
uniformly

with
 filtrate
 volume.
 The
 constant
 of
 propor'onality
 is
 called
 dry
 cake

mass
per
filtrate
volume


(LA)(C)ρs
c=
V
 Expression
for
pressure
drop
using
Darcy’s
law

dt µ
Density
of
solids
 = ( Rc + Rm )
dV AΔp
W = (LA)(C)ρs
Mass
of
cake
 Mass
frac'on
of
solid


Volume
of
cake


(LA)(C)ρs
c=
V
(LA)(C)ρs = cV

W = cV Therefore,

Rc = α (W / A) = α (cV / A)
Expression
for
pressure
drop
using
Darcy’s
law

dt µ
= ( Rc + Rm )
dV AΔp

Rc = α (cV / A)

dt µα c µ Rm
= 2 V+
dV A Δp AΔp
 Constant
Pressure
Filtra'on

dt µ ⎛ α cV ⎞
= ⎜⎝ + Rm ⎟
dV AΔp A ⎠
When
Δp
is
constant,
only
variables
in
above
equa'on
are
V
and
t.

When
t=0,
V=0;
Δp=Δpm
 ⎛ dt ⎞ µ Rm 1
⎜⎝ ⎟⎠ = =
dV 0 AΔp q0
c
 is
 the
 mass
 of
 the
 solid

dt 1
= = K cV +
1 µcα (par'cles)
deposited
in
the

Where
 Kc = 2 filter
 per
 unit
 volume
 of

dV q q0 A Δp the
filtrate



Integra'ng
above
equa'on
between
limits
(0,0)
and
(t,V)


t Kc 1
= V+
V 2 q0
 Empirical
equa'ons
for
cake
resistance

By
 conduc'ng
 a
 number
 of
 constant‐pressure
 experiments
 at
 various

pressure
 drops,
 the
 varia'on
 of
 α
 with
 Δp
 may
 be
 found.
 If
 α
 is

independent
 of
 Δp,
 the
 cake
 is
 incompressible.
 But
 generally,
 α

increases
with
Δp,
as
most
cakes
are
to
some
extent
compressible.
For

highly
compressible
cakes,
α
increases
rapidly
with
Δp.











Empirical
equa'ons
are
generally
figed
to
observed
experimental
data
,

for
Δp
vs.
α.
Most
common
one
is












α = α 0 (Δp)s

α0
 and
 s
 are
 empirical
 constants
 and
 s
 is
 called
 the
 compressibility

coefficient
of
the
cake.
It
takes
a
value
of
zero
for
incompressible
cakes

and
posi've
for
compressible
cakes.
Its
value
falls
between
0.2
and
0.8

Laboratory
filtra'ons
conducted
at
constant
pressure
drop
on
a
slurry
of
CaC03
in
H2O

gave
the
data
shown
in
Table.
The
filter
area
was
440
cm2,
the
mass
of
solid
per
unit

volume
of
filtrate
was
23.5
g/L,
and
the
temperature
was
25°C.
Evaluate
the
quan''es

α
and
Rm
as
a
func'on
of
pressure
drop.
Comment
on
the
type
of
filter
cake
and
effect

of
pressure
on
the
filter
medium
resistance

t Kc 1
= V+
V 2 q0

⎛ dt ⎞ µ Rm 1
⎜⎝ ⎟⎠ = =
dV 0 AΔp q0
µcα
Kc = 2
A Δp
2.
Quartz
mixture
having
the
screen
analysis
shown
in
the
table
below
is
screened
through
a

standard
10‐mesh
screen.
The
cumula/ve
screen
analysis
of
overflow
and
underflow
are
given

in
the
table.
Calculate
the
mass
ra/os
of
the
overflow
and
underflow
to
feed
and
the
overall

effec/veness
of
the
screen.