Design Continuous

Vacuum Filtration unit

for pharmaceutical
industry?
 Table of Contents:
• What vacuum filtration is?
• Objectives
• Classifications of vacuum filtration
• Horizontal belt filter
• Rotary Drum filter
• Components
• Construction

• Performance parameters
• Design of the equipment
• Principal Equations of designing
• Process unit

• Applications
 WHAT VACUUM FILTERATION IS?

• VACUUM FILTRATION accomplished by

creating negative pressure (Suction)
across filter medium.

• In Filtration, insoluble solid from liquid

is separated by forcing liquid through
porous medium

• The force is differential pressures on

two sides of medium, atmospheric
pressure at one end and vacuum at
other.
OBJECTIVES:

1. SOLID – LIQUID SEPARATION: - To separate solids from liquid

containing high solid contents (15-30%w/v).
2. LARGE SCALE / LONG RUN FILTRATION: - To filter large scale or
long run filtration is required with no dead time
3. Cake Washing: - Excellent cake washing in continuous processes
with low water consumption
4. LOW COST PROCESS : - When low cost processes are the
requirement
 Major classification of Continuous Vacuum filter:
Rotary Drum Filter

Horizontal Belt Filter Disc Filter

Horizontal Pan Filter

Rotary Belt Filter Compact Filter

Press Drum Belt Filter
HORIZONTAL BELT FILTER:
• It consists of an endless belt arranged in horizontal plane and running
over pulleys at about 0.05 m/s at the feed and discharge ends.
• Washing and drying zones passes over the vacuum boxes
• At discharge the vacuum is relieved and the belt moved forward
towards feed point.
ROTARY DRUM FILTERS
• Firstly designed in 1872 in England by William
and James Hart.
• It comes in two variants:
• Where vacuum is created with in compartments
formed on periphery of drum
• Where vacuum is applied to the whole of the drum
interior

• Lean to Dense slurries

• Wide range of feed solids concentration

(0.5-70%)

• Dischargeable Cake of 3-30 mm Thick

• Economic cycle time.

• Fine to coarse particles sizes (Less than 10 to

500 micron)
 PARTS
AGITATOR DRUM SURFACE
DRUM HEAD

INTERNAL PIPING

AUTO VALVE

FILTER VAT

AGITATOR

AUTO VALVE

AGITATOR DRIVE
 CONSTRUCTION
•Drum surface divided into longitudinal sections
•Sections on Drum Surface fitted with PP Grids
(Drainage deck) forming outer cylindrical drum
surface
•PP grids support Filter Medium (Filter Cloth)
•Each section connected to internal pipes leading to
stationary Auto Valve (Filtrate outlet)
•Auto valve is connected to vacuum system.
TYPES OF DISCHARGES
PEROFRMANCE PARAMETERS:

• Drum speed
• Vacuum ( applied to filtration washing and drying zones)
• Percentage of drum surface submerged in slurry
• Fully dischargeable cake is formed
A drum filter should be operated at the highest submergence and at
highest possible drum speed for maximum throughput.
STANDARD SIZE SELECTION
MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION
 GOVERNING DESIGN EQUATIONS:
•  Mean velocity of flow calculated the whole area

• V= Volume of filtrate passes in time t, A = total cross-sectional area • What we get from these
• e = voidage , l = cake thickness, S= specific surface of particles Equations?
• -ΔP = Total Pressure drop
• Time of submergence /
• is the volume of cake deposited by unit volume of filtrate: revolution
• Time for 1 revolution
• Speed
• Flow of filtrate through cloth and cake combined:
• Specific surface
• Period of constant rate filtration:
• Feed flowrate
• where, r= specific resistance of filter cake
• Constant pressure filtration:
 FLOWSHEET OF PROCESS UNIT
• Filtration Installation with Cake Washing and Filtrate Separation :
• Filtration Installation with Pre-coat System :
PHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATIONS
• Antibiotics
• Vegetable extract
• Fibrous material
• Penicillin
• Salts and derivatives
• Vitamins
• Glucose
THANK YOU