UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL

Discipline of Chemical Engineering

ENCH3FS
FLUID AND SOLIDS TRANSPORT
TEST 1: 8 April 2022

Examiner: Dr S Moodley FULL MARKS: 43

Moderator: Prof R Rawatlal
DURATION: 3 hours (180 minutes)

Instructions

 Students are reminded that they are bound by the UKZN rules as outlined in Student
Disciplinary Rules 2022 and Plagiarism Policy and Procedures, as well as the Disclaimer
that you have agreed to on Moodle.

 This test paper consists of four (4) pages, including this cover page.

 This test consists of three questions.

 Question 1 is worth 16 marks.

 Question 2 is worth 8 marks.

 Question 3 is worth 19 marks.

 Solutions must be uploaded to the 3FS Learn 2022 page via the “Test 1 Submissions” link.

 Clearly label your uploaded files.

E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. THE DURATION OF THE

TEST INCLUDES ADEQUATE TIME FOR YOU TO UPLOAD YOUR FILES.
QUESTION 1 [16 marks]

During a variable-pressure-variable-rate filtration experiment using a plate-and-frame filter press,

5 m3 of filtrate was collected at a particular filtration rate (𝑄). The filter press consisted of 25
frames of dimensions 1 m × 1 m × 0.015 m. The filter medium resistance (𝑅m ), assumed
constant, was 7 × 1010 m−1.
The filter cake was compressible, and its resistance was found to obey the relationship
𝛼 = 7 × 109 (−Δ𝑃c )𝑠 ,
where 𝑃 has units of Pa, 𝛼 has its usual SI units and 𝑠 = 0.365, while the pump characteristic was
described by the formula
(−Δ𝑃) = −10000𝑄 2 + 𝑄 + 3,

where 𝑃 has units of bars and 𝑄 has units of m3 /s. The amount of solids per unit volume of filtrate
was 12 kg solids/m3 filtrate, and the filtrate viscosity was 1 × 10−3 Pa ∙ s.

Determine the filtration rate in units of m3 /h.

If an iterative computation is required, then use the Newton-Raphson method (see Supporting
Information) and perform two (2) iterations. If it is indeed the case, a reasonable starting value
for the filtration rate lies in the interval (36, 72) m3 /h.

Supporting Information
𝑓(𝑥𝑛 )
𝑥𝑛+1 = 𝑥𝑛 −
d𝑓
|
d𝑥 𝑥𝑛
QUESTION 2 [8 marks]

A single spherical grain of an ore of true particle density 𝜌p = 2400 kg/m3 , sinks in a liquid
(density = 850 kg/m3 ; dynamic viscosity = 8.5 × 10−4 Pa ∙ s) with a terminal velocity of 0.381 m/s.
In a suspension of ore particles in the liquid, the grain’s hindered settling velocity is 0.1 m/s. In
the first and second equations in the Supporting Information, 𝑛 = 2.85.

Determine the diameter (in mm) of the grain/particle.

Supporting Information
100 + 2.3Re
𝑛 = 4.6 − Re [ ]
(1.5 + Re)(105 + Re)

𝑢H = 𝑢t (1 − 𝐶)𝑛

1
𝜓P =
101.82(1−𝜀)

𝑑p 𝑢t 𝜌m
Re =
𝜇m
QUESTION 3 [19 marks]

A catalytic reaction is to be undertaken in a fluidized bed reactor. The rate of reaction is

dependent on the surface area of the catalyst, and an investigation of the kinetics of the reaction
indicates that a total catalyst surface area of 700 m2 is required. The catalyst particle density is
3000 kg/m3 and the reacting fluid density is 1000 kg/m3 . (The catalyst particles are non-porous
and non-spherical.) The fluid viscosity is 3 × 10−4 Pa ∙ s and the total mass of the catalyst
particles is 40 kg. The size distribution of the catalyst particles is tabulated below.

Size (𝜇m) 400-500 150-400 70-150 30-70

Mass % 15 40 40 5

Calculate the height and diameter of the operating fluidized bed if the operating velocity is thrice
the minimum fluidizing velocity, and the bed is to be cylindrical with a 1:3 diameter-to-height
ratio.

Hints:

 Assume that the particle average size/diameter is significantly smaller than the bed
diameter.
 Ensure that the value of 𝜀mf converges to three decimal places when solving the second of
Wen & Yu’s equations. A good initial value would be the one calculated from the first
equation. Use the Newton-Raphson method.
 Do not recalculate the bed dimensions.

Supporting Information

Wen & Yu’s equations:

1
3 ≈ 14 Equation 1
𝜙𝜀mf

1 − 𝜀mf
3 ≈ 11
Equation 2
𝜙 2 𝜀mf

0.27
4.8 − 𝑛 𝑑p, ave.
= 0.043Ar0.57 [1 − 1.24 ( ) ]
𝑛 − 2.4 𝑑t