Dewatering effects

Independently from the kind of raw material, the dewatering effect is always greater than the penetration of sugars into the plant tissue as long as the membrane is intact. 

To understand the reasons for the dewatering effectiveness resulting from the interactions between the two surfactants, time-dependent interfacial tensions were measured to examine the transfer of the surfactants from the bulk to the interface. Based on these measurements. Figure 18 shows a plot of the apparent spreading rate parameter, which is a measure of both... 

A uniform moisture profile in the cross machine direction on the reel is very important for reasons of quality and economy. This requires a uniform nip pressure as well as a uniform dewatering effect of the felts in CD. Preconditions for that are uniform felt design, structure, and conditioning. For CD moisture profile correction press rolls are in use which can vary the line force selectively across the width (in conventional press sections) and sectionalized steam boxes which heat the web to varying extents across the width. 

Pressure Filtration. High pressure drops have a twofold effect, ie, on capacity and on displacement dewatering which often follows. 

Another variation of the string discharge is the use of a thick plastic belt which is perforated by conical openings. The dmm is covered with filter cloth and the belt covers the cloth for the filtration and dewatering operations. The soHds fill the perforations in the belt and then leave the dmm with the belt to be discharged by air blow as pellets. This is an effective way of pelletising coarse mineral ores. 

The disk filter is similar to the dmm in operation, but filtration is conducted using a series of large diameter filter disks that carry the filter medium on both sides of the disk. They are connected to the main horizontal shaft and partly immersed in the feed slurry. The central shaft is connected by a set of valves which serve to provide vacuum and air as in dmm filters. As the disk sections submerge during rotation, vacuum is appHed to form a cake on both sides of the disk. The cycle of operation is similar to that in a dmm filter. One unit can have as many as 12 disks of up to 5-m diameter. Disk filters, both compact and cost effective, are used extensively in the iron ore industry to dewater magnetite concentrates. 

Although all the techniques are effective, in industrial appHcations there is rarely time to achieve an equiHbrium reduced saturation state (see Filtration), so variables that affect only the kinetics of dewatering and not the equiHbrium and residual moisture are also very important. The most important kinetic variables in displacing the Hquid from the soHd are increases in pressure differentials and viscosity reduction. 

Use of Surfa.cta.nts, Although the use of steam to improve dewatering is consistently beneficial, the effects of surfactants on residual moisture are highly inconsistent. Additions of anionic, nonionic, or sometimes cationic surfactants of a few hundredths weight percent of the slurry, 0.02—0.5 kg/1 of soHds (50), are as effective as viscosity reduction in removing water from a number of filter cakes, including froth-floated coal, metal sulfide concentrates, and fine iron ores (Table 2). A few studies have used both steam and a surfactant on coal and iron ore and found that the effects are additive, giving twice the moisture reduction of either treatment alone (44—46,49). 

Surfactants aid dewatering of filter cakes after the cakes have formed and have very Httle observed effect on the rate of cake formation. Equations describing the effect of a surfactant show that dewatering is enhanced by lowering the capillary pressure of water in the cake rather than by a kinetic effect. The amount of residual water in a filter cake is related to the capillary forces hoi ding the Hquids in the cake. Laplace s equation relates the capillary pressure (P ) to surface tension (cj), contact angle of air and Hquid on the soHd (9) which is a measure of wettabiHty, and capillary radius (r ), or a similar measure appHcable to filter cakes. 

Surfactants lower the surface tension of water, typically from 72 to ca 30—35 mN/m (= dyn/cm), and many surfactants have a strong effect on the contact angle when used at low concentrations. Both changes help dewatering. Too much surfactant, near or above the critical micelle concentration... 

Capillary Suction Processes. The force needed to remove water from capillaries increases proportionately with a decrease in capillary radius, exceeding 1400 kPa (200 psi) in a 1-p.m-diameter capillary. Some attempts have been made to use this force as a way to dewater sludges and cakes by providing smaller dry capillaries to suck up the water (27). Sectors of a vacuum filter have been made of microporous ceramic, which conducts the moisture from the cake into the sector and removes the water on the inside by vacuum. Pore size is sufficiently small that the difference in pressure during vacuum is insufficient to displace water from the sector material, thus allowing a smaller vacuum pump to be effective (126). 

Example 1 Sizing a Dish Filter Eqiiipmeut physical factors, selected from Table 18-9 Maximum effective siihmergeuce = 28% maximum portion of filter cycle available for dewatering = 45%. (High submergence versions require tninnion seals, and their use is hmited to specific apphcations.)... 

When eontaminated, polluted, or valuable suspension liquors are present, it becomes necessary to wash the filter cake to effect clean separation of solids from the mother liquor or to recover the mother liquor from the solids. The operation known as dewatering involves forcing a clean fluid through the cake to recover residual liquid retained in the pores, directly after filtering or washing. Dewatering is a complex process on a microscale, because it involves the hydrodynamics of... 

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