Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

Computational fluid dynamic modeling and simulation of air flotation syrup clarifier used
in sugar mills
--Manuscript Draft--

Manuscript Number: BCAB-D-21-01981

Full Title: Computational fluid dynamic modeling and simulation of air flotation syrup clarifier
used in sugar mills

Article Type: Original Article

Abstract: Over the past decade, researchers and engineers have innovated and improved
sugarcane processing. This improvement not only reduces operating and production
costs, but also helps increase productivity and profitability. Several industrial
technologies are launched to enhance the quality of sugar. The core objective of
available technologies is to reduce the color content, turbidity and increase the quality
of sugar, including flotation clarification technology. The separation technique in the
clarifier is performed by generating adequate bubbles and sustaining the suitable
environment for these bubbles to adhere to the impurities to be removed. Due to the
presence of air, the density of flocs formed by mixing bubbles and impurities is lower
than that of liquids. Buoyancy causes the flocs to upsurge to the surface, forming a
layer of scums that is comparatively easy to take out. The clarifier fitted in the sugar
factory has a unilateral discharge. There is a ring inside and each ring has 24 holes 2
inches in diameter. Because this is a one-sided outlet, the control is incorrect.
Therefore, it is essential to understand the appropriate conditions for fluid dynamics
and to recommend a new elucidation to improve the efficiency of the clarifier. This
study presents the outcomes attained from the numerical analysis of the full scale flow
in the clarifier, the results were validated by comparing the residence time distribution
curves calculated by the tracer test. The simulations performed were used to identify
flow patterns and to explore effects of potential changes while designing to improve the
hydrodynamic characteristics within the flotation region.

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1
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4 Computational fluid dynamic modeling and simulation of air flotation syrup clarifier used
5
6 in sugar mills
7
8 Imran Nazir Unar1, Ghulamullah Maitlo2, Masroor Abro1, Abdul Qadeer Laghari1, Zulfiqar Ali Solangi1,
9 Naveed Ali Koondhar1
10
11 1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro,
12 Pakistan
13 2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi,
14
15 Pakistan
16
17
18 *
Corresponding Author: Prof. Dr. Ghulamullah Maitlo
19 E-mail: metlo2696@yahoo.com
20
Cell: +92-333-0300214; Fax: +90 21 99230710
21
22
23
24 Abstract
25
26 Over the past decade, researchers and engineers have innovated and improved sugarcane processing. This
27 improvement not only reduces operating and production costs, but also helps increase productivity and profitability.
28
29 Several industrial technologies are launched to enhance the quality of sugar. The core objective of available
30 technologies is to reduce the color content, turbidity and increase the quality of sugar, including flotation clarification
31
32 technology. The separation technique in the clarifier is performed by generating adequate bubbles and sustaining the
33
suitable environment for these bubbles to adhere to the impurities to be removed. Due to the presence of air, the density
34
35 of flocs formed by mixing bubbles and impurities is lower than that of liquids. Buoyancy causes the flocs to upsurge
36
to the surface, forming a layer of scums that is comparatively easy to take out. The clarifier fitted in the sugar factory
37
38 has a unilateral discharge. There is a ring inside and each ring has 24 holes 2 inches in diameter. Because this is a one-
39
sided outlet, the control is incorrect. Therefore, it is essential to understand the appropriate conditions for fluid
40
41 dynamics and to recommend a new elucidation to improve the efficiency of the clarifier. This study presents the
42
43 outcomes attained from the numerical analysis of the full scale flow in the clarifier, the results were validated by
44 comparing the residence time distribution curves calculated by the tracer test. The simulations performed were used
45
46 to identify flow patterns and to explore effects of potential changes while designing to improve the hydrodynamic
47 characteristics within the flotation region.
48
49
50 Keywords: Sugar mill, Juice, Clarifier, Modelling, Simulation.
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4 1.1 INTRODUCTION
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6 Cane processing for various products has gained substantial advances in last few decades [1-3]. This transformation
7 in sugar mills is primarily due to international competition and pressure from stakeholders to decrease production
8 costs, as well as to help improve productivity [4]. Worldwide competition is driving stakeholders to further improve
9 technologies related to sugarcane processing [5, 6]. Technological improvements are mainly made on a small scale,
10 but with great benefits. Industries are looking for all possible ways to increase revenue and extract as much cane juice
11 as possible to produce sugar [7]. Today, the sugar mills produce ethanol from molasses as a byproduct, sugarcane
12 bagasse, is used to generate the energy used in industry [8, 9]. The purification process in the sugar industry helps to
13 clean the color of the sugar, remove turbidity and separate suspended solids, resulting in high quality white sugar [10,
14 11]. Due to the presence of air, the density of the flocs formed by the mixture of bubbles and impurities is lower than
15 that of liquids. In the sugar industry, this technology is very suitable for various applications, such as: processing of
16 syrups, waste water, filtrates and alcoholic beverages [12, 13]. At the beginning of the twenty first century, sugar
17 industry faces new challenges in terms of environmental, social, health and global competition [14]. In order to subsist
18 and thrive in the new era, the industry needs to significantly lessen production costs by assessing and refining the
19 operation of the unit. Unfortunately, in the last fifty years, the sugar industry has only gradually improved its cane
20 production [15]. Refined sucrose is usually produced from an intermediate product called raw sugar, which is produced
21 from sugar cane juice in a sugar mill by clarifying, evaporating and crystallizing processes [16]. The raw sugar is then
22 subjected to the operations of the refining unit, including refining, crystallization, centrifugation, drying and
23 conditioning [17]. The conventional refining process is expensive, consumes a lot of energy and consists of ten or
24 more operating units. The unit of refining the sugar that consumes the most energy is evaporation and crystallization
25 [18]. However, in most cases, sugar refineries use different tandem refining processes. It is necessary to decrease the
26 number of unit operations in order to reduce the energy consumption in sugar production [19]. Decreasing unit
27 operations also decreases labor and maintenance costs, thus reducing capital and operating costs. Researchers studied
28 the production of beet sugar to conceptualize the simplified sugarcane processing process [16, 20]. Currently, sugar
29 beet production consists of a single phase of evaporation and crystallization [21]. Compare molasses because it
30 consists of isolated non-sucrose impurities present in the juice. When comparing beet molasses and brown sugar, there
31 are significant differences in the concentrations of calcium, magnesium and sodium ions [22, 23]. In addition,
32 membrane filtration is used for clarification and discoloration, especially when producing high quality juices with a
33 natural taste and without additives [24, 25]. In fact, membrane filtration has been widely used in sugar refining, such
34 as purification and concentration of cane juice, refining of raw sugar and clarification and discoloration of molasses
35 [26]. Although the concept of using membrane filtration to purify sugar cane juice has been proposed previously, few
36 experimental studies have described a complete pilot scale process, from pretreatment of sugar cane juice to
37 crystallization of sugar cane juice [27, 28]. The proposed method is a simple method that requires the addition of
38 sodium carbonate for pretreatment and the use of cross-flow ultrafiltration membranes for purification. The purpose
39 of this research was to establish 3D CFD model of clarifier and inspect the hydrodynamics of fluid inside the clarifier.
40 The modified geometry was developed to compare the results with the existing clarifier geometry working in sugar
41 mill.
42
43 2. METHODOLOGY OF MODELING AND SIMULATION
44
45 2.1 General Description
46
47
48 This study attempts to analyze the technical problems in the clarification of juice in sugar factories. In order to
49 understand the dynamic behavior of the clarifier syrup flow, a CFD simulation was developed. The research was
50 divided into two phases. In the first stage, the CFD modeling of the clarification tank was carried out by developing
51 the geometry of the installed clarification tank (with a single outlet) along the current operating conditions.
52 Comparison the results obtained at this stage with industrial data that can be used to validate the modeling strategy.
53 In the next stage, a clarifier geometry with four outputs was developed and numerical simulations were performed
54 again. Finally, the effects of fluid dynamics variables were studied and the results collected were compared. All
55 research activities can be explained with the work flow chart shown in Fig. 1. The details of each step, such as case-
56 based and suggested case geometry development, control equations, solution strategies, and limits and operating
57 conditions are discussed in each section.
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5 Base case geometry development
6 (Computational Domain)
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Governing equations (Selection and
8 Solving)
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11 Validation
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13 Proposed case geometry development
14 (Computational Domain)
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17 Governing equations (selection and solving)
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19 Comparative analysis and further
20 simulations
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22 Fig. 1 Methodology of simulation work used in this research.
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24 2.2 Computational Domain Development
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26 The developed and meshed geometry of the clarifier using CFD was referred as computational domain. In
27 subsequent sections, the development of the actual system and the CAD model, as well as detailed information on
28 the meshing steps are discussed.
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30 2.2.1 The actual layout of the selected geometry
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33 The syrup clarifier mounted at Sugar Mills is represented in Fig. 2(a-b). It is a cylinder-shaped tank in which the syrup
34 move in through a central tube. There is a large tube ring in the tank, near the bottom, with 24 equally spaced holes
35 on the bottom. The transparent syrup comes out of these holes and comes out of the tank through an outlet. A scraper
36 is also installed in the clarification tank, which rotates at a slower speed and removes the scum collected on the surface
37 of the syrup.
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53 (a) Rotating scum scraper and syrup inlet in clarifier (b) Tiny holes inside the ring in clarifier
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55 Fig. 2 (a-b) Clarifier geometry used for experimental research study.
56 3.2.2 Computational domain geometry development according to the actual situation (base case)
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58 The computer-aided design (CAD) model was developed as a single output clarifier in AnsysDesignModeler®14.0
59 software. Fig. 2 (a-b) shows the developed CAD model. Due to the symmetry of the geometry, only half of the
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4 geometry has been developed. After creating the CAD model, meshing of the geometry was done using
5 AnsysMeshing® 14.0. The geometry of the grid is shown in Fig. 3 (a-b). Use tetrahedral cells in the mesh. A total of
6 3.87,150 cells were used to create a meshed geometry with 0.79 orthogonal meshing quality.
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24 (a) Isometric view of geometry (b) Top view of geometry
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26 Fig. 3 (a-b). Clarifier geometry developed using registered version of Ansys DesignModeler®14.0 (base case).
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44 (a) Meshed geometry (isometric view) (b) Meshed geometry (top view)
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46 Fig. 4 (a-b) Meshing of geometry of (base case) developed through registered Ansys Meshing®14.0
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48 3.2.3 Domain computational development for the proposed case
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50 In the proposed case, the bottom outlet is distributed among 4 outlets. Similarly, the calculation domain is developed
51 based on the proposed clarifier geometry using the AnsysDesignModeler®14.0 software, and its CAD model is shown
52 in Fig. 3 (a-b). Also, due to the symmetry of the geometry, only half of the geometry has been developed. After
53 creating a CAD model for the proposed geometry, it was meshed into AnsysMeshing® 14.0. The geometry of the
54 mesh is shown in Fig.4 (a-b) Used tetrahedral cells in the mesh. A total of 407,274 cells were used to create a grid
55 geometry with 0.31 grid orthogonal quality. Fig. 5(a-b) shows isometric and top view of developed geometry, while
56 Fig. 6(a-b) represents meshed view of isometric geometry and meshed top view of developed geometry.
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22 (a) Isometric view of geometry (b) Top view of geometry
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24 Fig. 5 (a-b) Clarifier geometry developed using registered version of Ansys DesignModeler®14.0 (Proposed case)
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45 (a) Meshed geometry (isometric view) (b) Meshed geometry (top view)
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47 Fig. 6 (a-b) Meshing of geometry of (Base Case) developed through registered Ansys Meshing®14.
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49 3.3.1 Governing equations for simulating cases
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51 The main governing equations used during simulation of syrup clarifier include, continuity equation, momentum
52 equation commonly known as Navier - Stokes equations were solved in this research study. The momentum and mass
53 equations are represented by Eq. 1 and Eq. 2 respectively.
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55 Mass ∇. (𝜌𝜐⃑) = 𝑆𝑚 (1)
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58 Momentum ∇. (𝜌𝜐⃑𝜐⃑) = −∇𝑝 + ∇. (𝜏̿) + 𝜌 + 𝐹⃑ (2)
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60 Turbulent modeling approach standard k–ε was adopted and represented by Eq. 3 and Eq. 4.
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5 _____
 u u j  2
6 Standard k-ε Turbulence Model   u i' u 'j   t  i    k ij
 (3)
 x j x i  3
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9 While µt signifies turbulence viscosity, whereas turbulence kinetic energy is denoted by k.
10 Turbulence viscosity (μt) t  C k 2 /  (4)
11
Where Cµ is the constant, and ε signifies the rate of turbulence dissipation
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Turbulence kinetic energy (k) and turbulence dissipation rate (ε) are calculated using Eq. 5 and Eq. 6.
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15     t  k 
Turbulence kinetic energy
( u i k )        Gk  
 k  xi 
16 (5)
(k) xi xi 
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    t     2
19 ( u i  )        C1 Gk  C 2 Gk
20 Dissipation rate (ε) xi xi     xi  k k (6)
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23 Different types of constants taken in consideration during modeling and simulation are given in Table 1.
24 Table 1 In Turbulence Modeling constants applied
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Sr. No Value Constant
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01 1.44 C1ε
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02 0.09 Cμ
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30 03 1.92 C2ε
31 04 1.3 σε
32 05 1.0 σk
33 06 0.7 For Turbulence Schmidt number
34 07 0.85 For turbulence Prandtl number
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36 3.4 Numerical solution scheme
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38 Using CFD AnsysFLUENT®14 and finite volume techniques in order to support numerical calculations. Used a solver
39 for simulation to separate the energy equation from the momentum equation. The SIMPLE algorithm is used to mix
40 speed and pressure terms. The second-order upwind scheme is used for a separate convection term. The polynomial
41 relationship is formed by all gas and solid parts used to estimate the temperature value and its related characteristics
42 (such as Cp). When the kinetic energy, mass and moment meet the value of 10-3, the convergence value of the solution
43 is reached. Fig. 7 shows the converged residual plot.
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27 Fig. 7 Iterations showing the convergence plots (Residual plots).
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29 3.5 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
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31 The inlet points for syrup are set as the inlet velocity conditions and outlet was set as pressure outlet. The inlet flow
32 arte, pipe dimensions, number of holes in inlet pipe and type of material are taken from experimental data collected
33 from sugar mill and are tabulated in Table 2.
34 Table 2 Design and operating conditions collected from sugar mill.
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37 Parameter Value
38 Number of Holes Total 24 and (12 for half geometry)
39 Pipe dimensions Pipe length = 3000mm, Pipe dia = 254.54mm
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41 Inlet flowrate Flow rate = 28796 Kg/hr
42 Material: Liquor Density: 1252 Kg/m3
43 Viscosity: 0.00535 (from Industry)
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46 3.6 PARAMETRIC ENQUIRY AND MODEL VALIDATION
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48 As discussed, in current research, two types of geometric configurations have been developed. A geometric structure
49 has practical conditions operating in sugar mill is termed as base case geometry. The geometric structure has a single
50 outlet. The other is the geometry of the suggested case, with four exits at the bottom. The simulation was performed
51 by changing the input feeding rate. Five simulations were created, each geometry has a different feeding rate. Table 3
52 lists all simulated variable feed rates. It should be noted in Table 3 that case 3 is a simulated situation in real conditions.
53 This situation was used for the purpose of verifying the geometry of the base case. The dynamics of the fluids of any
54 physical system can be studied by means of several variables, such as speed, pressure and path lines. In the current
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simulation, these variables were used to study the fluid dynamics of the sugar mill clarifier.
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4 Table 3 Different simulated cases at varying inlet flowrate.
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7 Number of cases Flowrate (inlet)
8 1 23788 Kg/hr
9 2 26292 Kg/hr
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11 3 (Base Condition) 28796 Kg/hr
12 4 31300 Kg/hr
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14 5 33804 Kg/hr
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17 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
18 4.1 General Overview
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20 The syrup clarifier of sugar mill was simulated to understand the fluid dynamics of syrup. Two geometries were
21 developed, one with a single output with actual conditions (base case), and the other with a modified geometry, and
22 was named the proposed case with four outputs. The continuity equation and the Navier-Stoke equation have been
23 numerically solved with the help of the commercial software CFD AnsysFLUENT®14.0. The standard k-ε model is
24 used to calculate turbulence. Simulations were performed for each geometry with different feed flow rates. In the
25 results, hydrodynamic parameters such as velocity, pressure and path lines are studied. The detailed results have been
26 discussed in the following subsections.
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28 4.2 Velocity profile in basic case with basic case
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30 The contours profile is a special result in CFD that offers qualitative and quantitative information about the selected
31 variable, such as velocity, pressure, concentration, density, etc. For case 3 (basic conditions), Fig.8 (a-b) shows the
32 velocity profile in a section parallel to the bottom of the tank and formed in the middle of the inner ring tube. It can
33 be seen from these contours that the velocity of the flow from holes away from the common outlet is lower than that
34 of the flow from the holes close to the outlet. In other words, it is observed that the velocity value of each hole is not
35 uniform, and a higher velocity is observed in the hole near the outlet and therefore the flow rate is greater from the
36 holes which are close to the outlet. This situation ultimately leads to the main problem of unsatisfactory clarification
37 of the syrup in the area away from the exit portion.
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59 (a) Velocity contours and their isometric view (b) Velocity contours and their top view
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4 Fig. 8 (a-b) Sectional zone of inner ring of clarifier showing contours of velocity.
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4.4.3 Contours of pressure at base conditions with base case
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9 The pressure profile under basic conditions (case 3 with base geometry) is shown in Fig. 9 (a-b). It was observed that
10 as the fluid moves towards the main outlet, the pressure decreases. Low pressure is observed in the area away from
11 the main outlet.
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32 Fig. 9(a) with base case geometry pressure contours at sectional Fig. 9(b) path lines of flow with base case
33 zone of inner ring
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36 4.4 Flow path under base conditions with basic case
37 The path line is a line drawn by the software along the flow direction. From there, the flow pattern, direction and
38 turbulence can be seen intuitively. Fig. 9(b) shows the colored flow path of the particles. Approximately 20 path lines
39 were created from the entrance. Observed from the flow path, as it is a single exit, the flow is directed to the main
40 exit, so that there is almost no movement in the area away from the main exit, confirming the analysis by velocity and
41 pressure contours.
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43 4.5 Verification of simulation results with experimental results
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45 Through simulation, the mass flow rate is estimated from each hole and then compared with the mass flow information
46 obtained from industrial clarifier. Both simulated and industry based results regarding flow rate from each hole are
47 shown in Fig. 10. The results show that there is a maximum mass flow in hole one that is near the main outlet. From
48 hole number twelve that is away from the main outlet has the lowest flow rate. An error of less than 1% was found in
49 the comparison of both types of the results collected through the contours taken from CFD and the results collected in
50 the field, therefore, the model is considered to be validated. This means that the selection of the governing equation
51 and its solution strategy are accurate, and the results are acceptable under other conditions.
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4500 Simulation Result
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7 Measured at Industry
8 4000
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11 Mass Flow (Kg/hr) 3500
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13 3000
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15 Case: Single Outlet
16 2500
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19 2000
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21 1500
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24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
25 Hole No.
26 Fig. 10 Comparison of experimental results with simulated results.
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29 4.6 Velocity profile under the base situation and under the proposed situation
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31 It has been already argued that the geometry has been modified by inserting four equidistant outlets from each other,
32 which is termed as suggested case. A simulation with the same base conditions concerning case 3 was carried out for
33 suggested case. The velocity profile is shown in Fig.11 (a). Due to the symmetry of the geometry, half of the geometry
34 has been developed. Therefore, only 2 outlets are shown in Fig.11 (a). It can be seen that due to the increase in the
35 number of outlets, the velocity gradient has disappeared, as compared with single outlet Fig.8 (a), and the velocity is
36 now evenly distributed in all holes. It was investigated that each hole has a uniform velocity. Almost equal velocities
37 are observed from all holes.
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58 (a) Contours of velocity at isometric view (b) Contours of velocity at top view
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4 Fig.11 (a-b). Geometry of proposed case and contours of velocity at sectional zone of inner ring.
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4.7 Pressure profile under the base situation and under the proposed situation
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9 The pressure profile (contours) under basic conditions case 3 with the recommended geometry is shown in Fig. 12(a).
10 It was observed that the pressure is also uniformly distributed along the flow line. Due to the 2 holes for semi-
11 geometric shape, no pressure gradient is observed in the entire pipe. Therefore, it confirmed the discussion from the
12 speed profile information.
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29 Fig. 12(a) Geometry of proposed case and contours of pressure Fig.12 (b) Proposed geometry along with path lines of flow.
30 at sectional zone of inner ring
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4.8 Flow path under base conditions with base case
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36 Fig.12 (b) shows the colored flow path with the particles for suggested case with base case conditions. Approximately
37 20 path lines were created from the entrance. It can be seen by the flow route that for the proposed geometry, since
38 there are two exits, the flow of all four exits is uniform. There is no great flow from either side, but now the entire
39 flow inside the tube (inner ring) is streamlined.
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41 4.9 COMPARISON OF PROPOSED CASE WITH BASE CASE
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43 Under the basic conditions (Case 3), the results of the mass flow estimate for each hole are calculated from the basic
44 situation and the proposed situation. The comparison of the two simulations is shown in Fig.13. It was observed that
45 the proposed geometry with four outlets provides a uniform flow compared to the geometry of the base case with a
46 single outlet. For the basic case, the maximum flow from hole 1 is estimated at 4275 Kg / h, and the minimum flow
47 from hole 12 is estimated at 1555 Kg / h. When using the proposed case, the flow rate for all holes is almost close to
48 2400 Kg / hr. Due to the uniform flow from each hole, the clarification capacity of the clarification tank can also be
49 improved because the total volume of the clarification tank is fully utilized. Therefore, it can be concluded that
50 modifying the geometry with four outputs at equal distances can be beneficial for the clarification system and,
51 therefore, can improve the overall performance.
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4500
5 Base Case
6 Proposed Case
7 4000
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10 3500

Mass Flow (Kg/hr)

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12 3000
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15 2500
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22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
23 Hole No.
24 Fig. 13. Comparison of proposed case with base case (case-3).
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26 4.10 FEED FLOWRATE EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE OF CLARIFIER
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28 After verifying and comparing the results of the two cases under baseline conditions, more simulations were performed
29 by changing the feed flow rate. The purpose of these simulations were to verify the influence of the feed flow rate on
30 these two geometries. After each simulation, the mass flow rate of all holes is estimated. Finally, plotted the estimated
31 flow rates of all holes separately. Fig.14 (a), shows the change trend of the mass flow rate in the feed flow rate with
32 the basic situation the actual geometry of the single outlet. Fig.14 (b) shows the trend of the mass flow rate in the feed
33 flow rate under the proposed situation improved geometry with four outlets. Analyzing the Fig.14 (a-b), it can be
34
found that as the base geometry increases, the flow rate increases the difference between the first hole and the twelfth
35
hole, and for the proposed case, no gradient of the mass flow rate is observed. Therefore, it was confirmed that the
36
feeding rate has no effect on the velocity gradient in the inner ring, and therefore concluded that the four-hole geometry
37
worked effectively.
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39 3600
5000 Flow = 23728Kg/hr Case: Four Outlets Flow = 23728Kg/hr
40 Flow = 26292Kg/hr (Proposed Case) Flow = 26292Kg/hr
41 4500 Flow = 28796Kg/hr 3300 Flow = 28796Kg/hr
42 Flow = 31300Kg/hr Flow = 31300Kg/hr
43 4000 Flow = 33804Kg/hr Flow = 33804Kg/hr
44 3000
Mass Flow (Kg/hr )

Mass Flow (Kg/hr)

45 3500
46
2700
47 3000
48
49 2500 2400
50
51 2000
52 2100
53 1500 Case: Single Outlet
54 (Base Case)
1800
55 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
56 Hole No. Hole No.
57 Fig. 14 (a) Feed flow rate effects from each hole with base case Fig.14(b) Feed flow rate effects from each hole with
58 proposed case
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 1
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4 5 CONCLUSIONS
5
6
In the current study, CFD modeling and simulation was performed on the floating syrup clarifier installed at Matiari
7
Sugar Mill Ltd. A symmetrical computational domain was developed for base cases and suggested cases. Numerically
8
solved the continuity equation, the Navier Stoke equation and the k-ε turbulence model equation. Based on the results,
9
fluid mechanics parameters, such as velocity, pressure and path lines were extracted.
10
11
The study's conclusions are summarized as follows:
12
13
14  The conclusion is that the speed and pressure of the single outlet clarifier and the flow gradient of all the
15 holes in the inner ring can affect the clarification capacity of the clarifier.
16  For the base situation, it is observed that the liquid flow from the first hole (near the main outlet) is 4275 Kg
17 / hr, while the liquid flow from the 12th hole (away from the main outlet) is 1555 Kg / hour. , and the net
18 difference is 3170 Kg / hour.
19  The CFD results of the base situation were verified by the flow measurement values of all holes, and a good
20 agreement was found between the simulated value and the measured value, and the error was less than 1%.
21  The proposed improved geometry of the clarifier with four outlets shows better performance in terms of
22 velocity, pressure and flow uniformity across all 12 holes.
23  The average flow rate from four outlets for each hole with the recommended geometry is observed at a speed
24 of 2399 Kg/h. The maximum observed flow rate is 2,428 Kg/hr and the minimum is 2377 Kg/hr, which
25 indicates that the uniformity is very close to its average.
26  The increase in the main liquid flow rate has a similar effect to the base case having single outlet geometry
27 (the flow rate of all holes changes), while the recommended geometry performs uniform flow.
28  In general, it can be concluded that a clarifier with four outputs is more suitable for obtaining maximum
29 clarification efficiency in terms of better fluid dynamics.
30
31 Acknowledgements
32
33 All authors express their deep gratitude to the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology and Dawood
34 University of Engineering and Technology for providing essential facilities and environmental necessary for the
35 conduct of this research work.
36
37 Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable
38 Consent for publication: Not applicable
39 Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests
40 Data availability: The data and materials used in this study are available from corresponding author on reasonable
41 request.
42 Funding: Not applicable
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