UNIT OPERATIONS

OBJECTIVES

Explain basics of Unit operations

Enlist Examples of Unit Operations

Explain basic concept of operations

Review unit operations

 Basics of Unit Operations
In transforming matters from inexpensive raw
materials to highly desired products, Unit
operations are essential steps.
 fundamental laws of physics
 physicochemical principles (physical change)
 Different equipments-its design
 Material of construction and operation
 Calculation of various physical parameters
 Examples of Unit Operations
 Heat flow
 Filtration
 Fluid flow
 Mixing
 Evaporation
 Separation
 Distillation
 Crushing
 Leaching
 Sedimentation
 Extraction
 Adsorption
Size Determination
 Screening
 Screening is a mechanical
size Separation process.
 Widely used in Industry
for separating fine from
larger particle, removing
large solid
 Particle from liquid
stream
 Screen Analysis
 Involves :
- Passing the material being sized through
openings of a particular standard size in a
screen.
 The particle-size distribution is then reported as
the weight percentage retained on each of a
series of standard screen of decreasing size and
the percentage passed of the finest size.
 Factors what affect on
process of Sifting :
1. Shape and size of screen
2. Thickness of material layer on screen
3. Humidity of material
4. Movement speed of materials on the sieve
5. Nature of movement and length of way
material
6. Work Speed of sifting
Motivation for particle size reduction:
 increase specific surface of substances and
leads to:,
 increase the free surface energy of crushed
substances,
 More uniformity of weight and drug content
 More stability of suspensions Increasing rates of
reaction, drying, extraction, ..etc
 Force for reduce the size of Particals
 Compression forces
 Impact forces
 Shearing(or attrition) forces
 The energy required to reduce the size of
solids is calculated using one of three
equations, as follows:

 Kick’s law

 Rittinger’s law

 Bond’s law
 Kick’s law gives reasonably good results for
coarse grinding in which there is a relatively small
increase in surface area per unit mass.
 Rittinger’s law gives better results with fine
grinding where there is a much larger increase in
surface area
 Bond’s law is intermediate between these two.
 Mechanisms of size reduction
 Compression -is used for coarse reduction of
hard solids, to give relatively few fines e.g., nut
crusher
 Impact (crash) - gives coarse, medium or fine
products e.g., hammer mill
 Attrition - yields very fine products from soft,
nonabrasive materials
 Cutting -gives a definite particle size and
sometimes a definite shape, with few or no fines
e.g., scissors
 Classification equipment for
size reduction:
By the mechanism used to break the
particles:

1. Disc
2. Boll
3. Rotor
4. Hammer
5. Rollers and others
Size Reduction…
way of milling...
Ball Mill Roll Mill
 Disadvantages of excessive size
reduction:
a. Possible change in polymorphic form
b. Possible degradation by heat
c. Less flowability
d. Static charge problems
e. Air adsorption, hence, less wetting
 Size reduction in SWM(Solid
Waste Management) systems
 Why Size Reduction is required?
to convert large sized wastes (as they are collected)
into smaller pieces.
Size reduction helps in obtaining the final product in
a reasonably uniform and considerably reduced size
in comparison to the original form.
But note that size reduction does not necessarily
imply volume reduction, and this must be factored
into the design and operation of SWM systems as
well as in the recovery of materials for reuse and
conversion to energy.
In the overall process of SWM, size reduction
is implemented ahead of:
 land filling to provide a more homogeneous product.
This may require less cover material and less
frequent covering than that without shredding.
 This can be of economic importance, where cover
material is scarce or needs to be brought to the
landfill site from some distance.
 recovering materials from the waste stream for
recycling.
 reducing moisture, i.e., drying and dewatering of
wastes
 baling the wastes – a process sometimes used
ahead of long distance transport of solid wastes –
to achieve a greater density.
 making the waste a better fuel for incineration
waste energy recovery facilities.
The size reduction techniques, coupled with
separation techniques such as screening
It ‘ll result in a more homogeneous mixture of
relatively uniform size, moisture content and heating
value, and thereby improving the steps of incineration
and energy recovery.
lists of equipment used for size reduction:
Type Mode of action Application
Small grinders Grinding, mashing Organic residential solid wastes
Chippers Cutting, slicing Paper, cardboard, tree trimmings, yard waste, wood,
plastics
Brittle and friable materials, used mostly in industrial
Large grinders Grinding, mashing
operation
Jaw crushers Crushing, breaking Large solids
Rasp mills Shredding, tearing Moistened solid wastes
Shredders Shearing, tearing All types of municipal wastes

Cutters, Clippers Shearing, tearing All types of municipal wastes

Breaking, tearing, All types of municipal wastes, most commonly used

Hammer mills equipment for reducing size and homogenizing
cutting, crushing composition of wastes
Ideally suited for use with pulpable wastes, including
Hydropulper Shearing, tearing paper, wood chips. Used primarily in the papermaking
industry. Also used to destroy paper records
 Hammer mill
 These are used most often
in large commercial
operations for reducing the
size of wastes.
 consisting of a number of
hammers, fastened flexibly
to an inner disk, which
rotates at a very high speed
 Wastes are further reduced
in size by being struck
between breaker plates
Selection of size reduction equipment
 The properties of materials before and after
shredding.
 Size requirements for shredded material by
component.
 Method of feeding shredders, provision of adequate
shredder hood capacity (to avoid bridging) and
clearance requirement between feed and transfer
conveyors and shredders.
 Types of operation (continuous or intermittent).
 Operational characteristics including energy
requirements, routine and specialised maintenance
requirement, simplicity of operation, reliability,
noise output, and air and water pollution control
requirements.
 Site considerations, including space and height,
access, noise and environmental limitations.
 Metal storage after size reduction for the next
operation.
 Centrifugation
Centrifugation involves separation of liquids and particles
based on density. Centrifugation can be used to separate cells
from a culture liquid, cell debris from a broth, and a group of
precipitates. There are numerous types of centrifuges, but only a
few will be presented here.
Tubular Bowl Centrifuge
Most useful for solid-liquid separation with enzymatic
isolation
Can achieve excellent separation of microbial cells and
animal, plant, and most microbial cell debris in solution
Disc Bowl Centrifuge
Widely used for removing cells and animal debris
Can partially recover microbial cell debris and protein
precipitates
 Centrifugal separators use the common principal that an
object whirled about an axis or center point a constant radial
distance from the point is acted on by a force
 The object is constantly changing direction and is thus
accelerating, even though the rotational speed is constant
 This centripetal force acts in a direction toward the center of
rotation
 In cylindrical container, the contents of fluid and solids exert
an equal and opposite force, called centrifugal force, outward
to the walls of the container
 This cause the settling or sedimentation of particles through a
layer of liquid or filtration of a liquid through a bed of filter
cake held inside a perforated rotating chamber
Fig. : Sketch of centrifugal separation
(a) initial slurry feed entering,

(b) settling of solids from a liquid,

(c) separation of two liquid fractions.

 Centrifugation classification based on
speed
 Another system of classification is the rate or speed
at which the centrifuge is turning.
 Ultracentrifugation is carried out at speed faster than
20,000 rpm.
 Super speed centrifugation is at speeds between
10,000 and
20,000 rpm.
 Low speed centrifugation is at speed below 10,000
rpm.
Major forces acting on solid particle during settling-
 Gravitational force (FG)

 Drag force (FD)

 Buoyant force (FB)

 When the particles reach a terminal settling velocity,

forces acting on a particle balance each other, resulting
in zero net force. That is
 FG = FD + FB
 SUMMARY
 Unit Operations
Examples
 Size determination (Screening)
 Size Reduction
Force acting, Laws, Mechanisms, Equipments,
Disadvantages
 Size reduction in SWM systems
List of Equipments used in SWM systems
Selection Criteria
 Centrifuge
Thank You