SEPARATION PROCESS OPEN

ENDED LAB REPORT

SUBMITTED TO: SIR RIZWAN ALI

Submitted by:
WARIAH (2020-CH-46), MEHARBANO IQBAL (2020-CH-44)  Anas Othman (2020-CH-96), Issam Aghbar
(2020-CH-98)
 Plate and Frame Filter Press

Objectives
1. To be able to identify the basic parts and function of a plate and frame filter press.

2. To determine the optimum filtration time and optimum cake thickness

3. To develop the operation and maintenance of a plate and frame filter press

4. To identify the variation in time of filtrate quantity and solid concentration in filtrate

5. To study the mass of filter cake dependent on filtrate quantity

Introduction
Filtration is a widely used unit operation of Chemical Engineering Processes which separates
solids from fluids. According to Coulson & Richardson Volume 2, "Filtration is the separation of
solids form a suspension in a liquid by means of a porous medium or screen which retains the
solids and allows the liquid to pass in termed filtration". This means that fluids or slurries are
forced through the pores of the medium which causes solid particles larger than the pores of the
filter medium to be removed. As time passes, particles deposited will slowly build up over time
and this would lead to the formation of layer of solids which is called a filter cake. As a thicker
filter cake is formed, flow resistance increases and this causes pressure to increase which greatly
affects the rate of filtration. It is applicable in various Industries such as wastewater treatment,
paper and pulp industry and as well as food and beverages industry.

In wastewater treatment industries, it is a must to make sewage harmless before it is disposed to

prevent pollution. One of the most important reasons to treat wastewater is to control the Bio-
chemical oxygen demand (BOD) of the water, which is the oxygen required for biological
decomposition of biodegradable organic matter under aerobic conditions. Filtration is one of the
process used in order to treat wastewater. It is stated in Basic Environment Engineering by R.C.
Gaur that "Filtration is a physical and chemical process for separating suspended and colloidal
impurities from water by passage through a porous bed made up of gravel and sand."

There are a lot of different types of filter equipment. Filter equipment consists of bed filters, bag
filters, filter press, pressure leaf filters, cartridge filters, vacuum filters, band filters, rotary drum

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filters and rotary disc filters. The experiment that is about to be conducted is based on a plate and
frame filter press which is one type of filter press. The other type of filter press is called recessed
plate or chamber press.

Theory
Press filter:
A filter press is a type of liquid/solid separation machinery. The filter press uses pressure
filtration to separate the liquids and solids. A slurry is pushed into the filter press and dewatered
under pressure. The volume and kind of slurry that has to be dewatered determine the design of
each filter press. Filter presses cannot be used in a continuous process, although they can provide
excellent results, especially when a low residual liquid content in the solid is needed. Filter
presses are used in marble manufacturers, among other places, to separate water from mud so
that the water may be reused throughout the marble cutting process..

The frame, filter plates, manifold (piping and valves), and filter cloth, a critical ingredient for
enhancing filter press operations, are the four basic components of a filter press.

Working of filter press:

Filter presses function on the premise of pumping slurry into the machine so that particles are
spread uniformly during the fill cycle. The filtrate departs the filter plates via the corner ports
into the manifold, producing clean filtered water. Solids pile up on the filter cloth, forming the
filter cake; the filtrate exits the filter plates through the corner ports into the manifold, yielding
clean filtered water.

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Filter presses use a pressure filtration process, thus as the filter press feed pump generates
pressure, solids pile up within the chambers until they are entirely full, creating the cake. The
cycle is finished when the chambers are filled, and the filter cakes are ready to be discharged.
Fast action automated plate changers are used in many larger capacity filter presses, reducing
cycle time.

Applications:
Filter presses come in a variety of sizes, ranging from small lab-scale 150 mm presses to
considerably higher capacity presses with 1500 and 2000 mm filter plates. Filter presses are used
in a wide range of industries and applications for liquid/solid separation, including:

 Processing of food and beverages

 Mining and chemical manufacturing
 Generating electricity
 Production of aggregates, asphalt, and cement
 Mills that make steel
 Plants in the municipal sector

Plate and frame filter press:

The plate and frame filter press is the oldest and most basic filter press design, dating back to
roughly 1850. Many plates and frames are constructed alternately with the supports of a pair of
rails in this sort of filter press. Until the mid-1900s, when thermal plastic plates were brought to
the market, plates and frames were composed of wood and metal.

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The filtrate that passes through filter cloth is collected through collection pipes and stored in the
filter tank. Filter cake (suspended solid) accumulation occurs at the hollow frame and is
separated at the filter plates by pulling the plate and frame filter press apart. The cakes then fall
from those plates and are discharged to the final collection point.

Plate and frame filters are made in every conceivable combination of inlet and outlet positions.
Bottom inlet and top outlet positions are considered best for precoating and filter aid suspension.
In larger sizes it is preferable that these are at opposite ends of the filter. All air should be purged
from the filter before precoating is completed. This may be difficult if gasketed filter septa are
used.

Working principle:
The filter plate and filter frame are positioned in parallel with the filtrate route in the plate and
frame filter press. To produce a filter chamber, a filter cloth is sandwiched and pushed between
each filter plate and filter frame. The mud cake accumulates on the filter cloth in the frame as the
sludge flows from the feed intake, the water flows from the filtrate outlet via the filter plate, and
the sludge flows from the feed input. The mud cake is easily peeled off after loosening the filter
plate and filter frame, and the operation is easy, and the filter cake has high solidity and
application.

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APPARATUS
 Filter Press Frame
 Frame Beam
 Filtration Plate
 Filtration Cloth
 Hydraulic Pump 
 Hydraulic Cylinder 
 Filter Press Support
 Inlet of Suspension for Dewatering
 Filtrate Outlet
 Drip Trays
 Trough Collecting Filtrate
 Flange for Filtrate Outlet
 Fixtures for Handling

PROCEDURE
1) Add the paper sludge mixture into the tank.

2) Turn on the apparatus and fully open the valve.

3) Measure the volume of filtrate every 20 seconds. For a total of 6 minutes, run this operation.

4) Take a reading of the filter press pressure every two minutes. Allow this procedure to continue
until the paper sludge mixture turns clear.

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5) Repeat steps 1–5 with a 350g and 450g blended paper mixture, respectively.

PRECAUTION
1) Wear lab coat

2) Before running the machine, make sure that it will not cause any harm to people.

3) While the equipment is powered on, do not open the electric control box or touch the
terminals, and do not open the electric motor's junction box, as this may result in electric shock
and incorrect functioning.

4) Long-term high-pressure hydraulic cylinders and oil pipes may break. To avoid harm, do not
stand directly behind the cylinder after beginning the filter press. If there is an abnormal
circumstance, press the stop button.

5) When pressing the plates or pulling boards, do not put your hand into the gaps between two
plates to clear the cloths, or it may cause injury. If necessary, stop the machine and then arrange
the cloths.

Applications:
A plate filter often used to filtrate the silver/gold/zinc precipitate generated in a Merrill Crowe
process. These filters have the advantage of low cost, great strength and ease of internal
inspection.

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Data and Calculations

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Graphs

Pressure vs Time graph for 12.5 g/L

conc.
0.15
Pressure Change

0.1

0.05

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time

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 Pressure vs Time Graph for 17.5 g/L Conc.
0.18
0.16
0.14
Pressure change
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time

Pressure vs Time graph for 22.5 g/L conc.

0.172
0.17
0.168
Pressure change

0.166
0.164
0.162
0.16
0.158
0.156
0.154
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time

CONCLUSION
Finally, as the concentration of the mixture increases, the volumetric flow decreases.
Furthermore, as the concentration of the mixture rises, the pressure of the filter pump rises as
well. Finally, when the concentration grows, the percentage reduction of solids in the mixture
drops, and the efficiency declines. In this experiment, this is an important factor. To accomplish
so, heated newspaper sludge must be heated until it reaches its melting point, then measured with
a viscometer. Because laboratory equipment is limited, it is impossible to evaluate viscosity
because no equipment exists to heat newspaper sludge to its melting point. Most equations
cannot be employed without viscosity values since they will leave an unresolved variable in

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computations. Another issue that arose throughout the course of this experiment was the
inaccuracy of some of the data provided. One of the factors contributing to this disparity is a lack
of equipment. In a laboratory with insufficient equipment, inaccuracy of some readings is
unavoidable. There could be some parallax error when reading the water level, which could lead
to inaccuracy issues.

References

[1] C. S. e. al., "Pharmaceutical Engineering Principles and Practice Filtration," 2001, pp. 260-
266.

[2] S. Wells, "Filtration Modeling of a Plate-And-Frame-Press," 1999.

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