SUGAR MILLING RESEARCH INSTITUTE

(Incorporated Association Not For Gain)

UNIVERSITY OF NATAL
KING GEORGE V AVENUE DURBAN 4001 TELEPHONE: 359192

TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 1157

SUBJECT OPERATION OF THE FILTER STATION AT MALELANE

MILL

PREPARED FOR THE PROCESS MANAGER, MALELANE

PREPARED BY T r> HOAREAU

U • i- .

DATE 9th October, 1978

INTRODUCTION;

A request was received by the SMRI to investigate the operating

conditions of the filter station at Malelane Mill and their possible
influence on high pol in cakes generally recorded.

The author visited this mill on the 3rd and 4th October, 1978. The
various factors affecting filter performance were investigated.

There were obvious signs of adverse conditions in the running of the

station. An accumulation of various factors was responsible for low
retention of mud solids and high pol in cake.

OBSERVATIONS;

The filter station consists of three rotary vacuum filters of 4,9m

giving an adequate total screen area for the present crushing rate
(± 0,34m2/T.C.H)

1
The clarifiers mud gravitates to a central mud tank, from where it
is pumped to one central bagacillo mixing tank before being fed to the
filters' troughs by an overflow weir.

Excess of mud in this mixer is returned to the central tank by an

overflow pipe placed just after the point of bagacillo addition.
This can hinder a thorough mixing of bagacillo and mud solids. The
recycling of mud which is not recommendable for many reasons is
utilised to accommodate fluctuations in feed rate to filters.
Bagacillo is collected from a "louvre type" separator and is added
by a screw conveyor(after the cyclone) to the bagacillo mixing tank.
No coagulent or lime is used prior to filtration. Incomplete coagulation
was suspected. This can result in poor filtrate clarity together with
a tendency for blinding screens.

Water Sprays;

The banks of water sprays and drip pipes are not well positioned.
Because of this they cannot always fulfill the water requirements in the
right regions. Some are in too close proximity and others too far
SMRI TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 1157 PAGE TWO

apart. A bad coverage and partial erosion of the cake were observed.

Operating speed:

It was noted that the running speeds of the drums were of acceptable
value (14 - 15 R.P.M.)

Thickness of cake averaged 0,7 - 0,8 cm.

High Vacuum;
The most unsatisfactory point in the operation of the station was
certainly the poor drying vacuum recorded at all times. Maximum high
vacuum attained was as low as 20 - 22 KPa (6" - 7" of m e r c u r y ) .
Because of this it became apparent during our trials that sufficient
water could not be applied to the available filter area.

It is obvious that good drying Vacuum 60 - 62 KPa (18" - 19" of

mercury) is of paramount importance in filter operation for high
efficiency.
The existing vacuum pumps should be of adequate capacity. No check
has however been possible to find if they were working at optimum
capacity. The Vacuum lines near the pumps were not provided with
Vacuum gauges.

When investigating the causes of this poor vacuum obtained, it soon

became evident that the timing in "pick-up and Drying zones" was
incorrect with reference to the blade scraper. In other words high
Vacuum was cutting far below the scraping zone.

A large segment of the drum(still under Vacuum) from the vicinity of

the scraping zone - on the descending side of the drum - to the level
of mud in the trough was exposed to atmosphere. A considerable air
intake resulted after cake discharge. The sequence of High Vacuum
should stop at a point 3" - 5" above the scraper blade, to restart
the cycle of cake formation (Pick-up Vacuum) just before the mud level
in the filter trough which should be kept high at all times.

It was therefore decided to remove the automatic valve head for a

check and for adjustment of the bridge blocks if found necessary.
It was unfortunately reported and found that during previous repairs
to the head valve, the blocks had been brazed and could no more
slide in their grooves. No proper adjustment was therefore possible.

After close examination and to try to eliminate this important problem,

we suggested the only alternative which consisted of adding an extra
bridge(of about 10°) which would retard the duration of high vacuum in
the cycle.

This suggestion has been found acceptable and before we left Malelane
their work had already started on filter No. 1. The feasibility of
correctina the setting of all the head valves in turn was also
examined with a view to meeting the desired vacuum requirements.

Leaks also occur between the head valve and the wear plates on
Filter No. 2. They require refacing OR grinding depending on the
extent of the wear to get a satisfactory seat on replacement.
SMRI TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 1157 PAGE THREE

Vacuum Regulating Valves:

The vacuum regulating valves on the vacuum receivers were also

not operating. Low and high vacuum could not be adjusted. They were
of the same value. This was attributed to leaking diaphragms, which
should be replaced as soon as possible.

Analysis of Feed: Mud solids % feed:-

Another unsatisfactory point was mud solids concentration in feed.

The mud had a thin appearance. This was evidenced by results of
analysis of a 6 hours composite feed sample.

Mud solids % feed was found to be 3,54. This is definitely on the low-
side and merits attention. Mud solids should not be less than 4,5%
if good performance is aimed at.

Fibre/mud solids ratio:

This ratio was also found to be below recommendable value. We should

like to stress its importance on cake formation, absorbtion of mud
solids and washing facilities. When operating at a drum speed greater
than 12 R.P.M., this ratio should be kept around 0,55 - 0,60.

Bagacillo quality:

Bagacillo quality being also an important factor (as far as pol in

cake and retention are concerned) size distribution was determined
by dry sieve analysis on a snatch sample. Results are listed in Table
I below.

Table I

Result of dry sieve Analysis of bagacillo(Size distribution)

Sieve(Mesh) Particles Diam. Wt fraction %

9-10 > 2,36 mm 1,63

16 > 1,00 5,50

28 > 0,60 21,93

48 > 0,30 42,04

Passing thru 28,90

100,00

From the above results it can be seen that 92,87% of the bagacillo
is smaller than 1,00 mm in diameter. The % of long strands is low
(1,63 %) and the size distribution adequate. This should be conducive
to a very good filtering medium.
sMRl TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 1157 PAGE FOUR

Retention:

No retention figures were available and no determinations have also

been carried out. They were however estimated to be of low value
during our trials.

Conclusions and recommendations:-

In the light of this investigation we tend to conclude that the main

limiting factor is certainly the poor drying Vacuum noted.
We understand that this will be corrected after bridge addition to
the head valve and grinding of wear plates as suggested.

The wash water system should be completely redesigned to obtain

better coverage of the cake and to prevent erosion in certain places.
We give in appendix a drawing considered suitable to provide the
desired effective washing of cake.

Means to decreasing fluctuations in filter feed should be investigated.

Mud removal from clarifiers should be studied to prevent feed ovsrflow
from bagacillo mixer and recycling of muds. The overflow pipe could
also be repositioned and placed at the end of the mixer to ensure
a better mixing of bagacillo and mud solids in feed before overflowing.
Bagacillo supply should be increased by about 12% - 15% and special
attention should be paid to this important parameter. The dependence
of retention on bagacillo ratio is again stressed.
Flocculent is not added to the juice at Malelane. This may be
responsible for slow sedimentation of muds. To promote floe formation
it is strongly recommended to add milk of lime to the feed. The rate
of addition should be controlled by the pH of the filtrates which
should be kept in the range of 7,8 - 8,0. The use of lime saccharate
should be preferable if facilities existed for its preparation.

Routine measurements of mud solids, bagacillo ratio, pH and purity of

filtrates are recommended as well. These determinations are the only
guide to filter performance and must be carried out to control the
filters' operation.

It is sincerely felt that the above instructions have covered all the
existing limiting factors noted. We also remain confident that the
relevant operational recommendations made in this report will be
carefully studied and applied.

Acknowledgement:

The assistance received from the Process Manager and Assistant Process
Manager is gratefully acknowledged.

Thanks are also due to Mr. P. Mellet who did most of the analytical
work during our visit.

SMRI
PH/JS
9/10/78
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