CH205T – Mechanical Unit

Operations

Unit-III-Filtration
 Advantages of Pressure filters
 Use of higher pressures leads to rapid rate of filtration.

 These compact filters provides a large filtration area per unit of

floor space occupied by the filter.

 Initial Investment is less due to batch process.

Disadvantages of Pressure filters

 Difficult to operate in continuous mode as operating cost is higher
in industrial applications.

 Continuous pressure filters are expensive to operate in continuos

mode.
 Plate and Frame Filter Press

Figure. Sectional View of Plate and Frame Filter Press

Construction

 Plates and frames arrnaged alternately and

supported on a pair of rails.

 The plate is a solid piece having ribbed surface.

 The frame is a hollow and provides the space for

the filter cake.

 Alternate arrnagement of plates and frames

results in the formation of the chamber.
Construction

 Filter cloth is placed over each plate to cover its

surface on both sides in order to separate it from
the hollow frame by the filter cloth.

 The plates and frames have circular holes on the

corners for feed and discharge.

 When the press is closed by means of a hand

screw, it forms a continuous channel along the
whole length of the press.
Construction

Frame Plate
Figure. Front View of Plate and Frame in a pressure
filter
Working
 Slurry to be filtered is pumped through feed
channel. It runs into the chamber and fills it
completely.

 As the feed pump continues to supply the slurry

to be filtered, the pressure increases.

 Due to this, filtrate passes through the cloth, runs

down the faces of plates and leaves the filter
through discharge.

 The solids are deposited on the filter cloth.

Working

 The press is jammed after some time when cakes

are formed on each side of the chamber.

 Wash liquid may be introduced in the press to

remove the solube impurities from the cake and
cake is then blown with air to remove the residual
liquid from it.

 The press is then dismantled and cake of solids

scrapped off from each plate.
Working

 In simple washing, the wash liquid is introduced

through feed channel and leaves the filter through
the outlet.
Advantages of Plate and Frame Press
 Simple in construction.
 Low maintenance cost.
 Large filtering area surface.
 Possible to alter the capacity.
 Disadvantages of Plate and Frame
Press
Labour requirement is higher.

Discontinuous in operation. Periodic dismantling

leads to wear and tear of filter cloth.

 Not suitable for higher throughputs.

 Higher risk of leakage and drip along feed and

outlet channels.
Industrial Dust Removing Equipments
 Gas Scrubber
 A gas scrubber is basically an absorption column whose main
function is to neutralize harmful components in industrial air or
waste gas streams.

 The gas particles causing these problems have to be removed from

the gas stream during the process, before the gases may be
disposed in the open air.

 A gas scrubber is very versatile and used in different sectors,

including the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry and
surface treatment.

 The working mechanism is typical gas absorption i.e. mass

transfer (gas-liquid absorption)
Gas Scrubber
 Gas Scrubber
Gas Scrubbing Process:
 A scrubber is a waste gas treatment installation in which a
gas stream is brought into intensive contact with a liquid,
with the aim of allowing certain gaseous components to
pass from the gas to the liquid.

 Scrubbers can be employed as an emission-limiting

technique for many gaseous emissions. Scrubbing is also
referred to as absorption.

 During scrubbing there is a transfer of components from

the gas phase to the liquid phase. The level of gaseous
components that can pass to the liquid phase is
determined by the ability of these components to dissolve
in the liquid.
 Variations of gas scrubber
 In counter-flow scrubbing the scrubbing liquid and the to-
be-cleaned gas flow in opposite directions. This type of
scrubber is, for example, particularly suited to irregular
and peak emissions. The counter-flow set-up allows high
concentration gaseous emissions to be better dealt with.

 In co-current scrubbers, the gas and liquid stream move in

the same direction. They are less effective than counter-
flow scrubbers. Co-current scrubbers have a
comparatively compact construction and used when less
space is available and a lower yield is acceptable. Further,
they are effective as an initial scrubbing stage for a
counter-flow scrubber, for example, when the gas flow
needs to be cooled or partly separated.
 Electrostatic Precipitator
 An air filtration device that removes suspended
dust particles from an effluent gas stream by
applying a high-voltage electrostatic charge and
collecting the particles on charged plates.

 To overcome the problems of industries,

electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is used to remove
the particles, impurities in the air.

 It may reduce particulate matter content in air

leading to climate change and many health issues.
Electrostatic Precipitator
 Electrostatic Precipitator
The working principle of the electrostatic precipitator.

 It has two sets of electrodes one is positive, and another

is negative. The negative electrodes are in the form of
rod or wire mesh. Positive electrodes are in the form of
plates. The positive plates and negative electrodes are
placed vertically in the electrostatic precipitator
alternatively one after another.

 The negative electrodes are connected to a negative

terminal of high voltage DC source, and positive plates
are connected to the positive terminal of the DC source.
 Electrostatic Precipitator
 The medium between the electrodes is air, and due to the
high negativity of negative electrodes, there may be a
corona discharge surround the negative electrode rods or
wire mesh.

 The air molecules in the field between the electrodes

become ionized, and hence there will be plenty of free
electrons and ions in the space.

 As soon as the flue gases enter into the electrostatic

precipitator, dust particles in the gases collide with the
free electrons available in the medium between the
electrodes and the free electrons will be attached to the
dust particles.
 Electrostatic Precipitator
 As a result, the dust particles become negatively
charged. Then these negatively charged particles will be
attracted due to electrostatic force of the positive plates.
Consequently, the charged dust particles move towards
the positive plates and deposited on positive plates.

 Here, the extra electron from the dust particles will be

removed on positive plates, and the particles then fall
due to gravitational force. We call the positive plates as
collecting plates.

 The flue gases after travelling through the electrostatic

precipitator become almost free from ash particles and
ultimately get discharged to the atmosphere through the
chimney.
Advantages of electrostatic precipitator

 The durability of the ESP is high.

 It can be used for the collection of both dry and
wet impurities.
 It has low operating costs.
 The collection efficiency of the device is high
even for small particles.
 It can handle large gas volumes and heavy dust
loads at low pressures.

Disadvantages are high capital investment and

large space requirement.
Applications of electrostatic precipitator

 Used in thermal power plants to clean effluent

flue gases.

 They are used in metallurgical industries to clean

the blast.