Filtration cake formation

Filtration tests can be carried out with quite simple apparatus where the objectives are principally twofold. Firstly, cake formation rate is required for preliminary equipment selection, and secondly parameters such as cake specific resistance and solids concentration values are needed, ideally as functions of the applied pressure/vacuum, for filter sizing and filtration rate calculations (Tarleton, 1998a,b Tarleton and Wakeman, 1994c, 1999 Wakeman and Tarleton, 1990, 1991a, 1994a). 

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To keep the frequency of backwash and the washwater demand down, and to prevent undesirable cake formation on the filter surface, deep bed filtration is appHed to very dilute suspensions of solids concentrations less than 0.1% by volume. 

Electrophoresis and electro osmosis can be used to enhance conventional cake filtration. Electrodes of suitable polarity are placed on either side of the filter medium so that the incoming particles move toward the upstream electrode, away from the medium. As most particles carry negative charge, the electrode upstream of the medium is usuaHy positive. The electric field can cause the suspended particles to form a more open cake or, in the extreme, to prevent cake formation altogether by keeping aH particles away from the medium. 

The concept of the specific resistance used in equation 4 is based on the assumptions that flow is one-dimensional, growth of cake is unrestricted, only soHd and Hquid phases are present, the feed is sufficiently dilute such that the soHds are freely suspended, the filtrate is free of soHds, pressure losses in feed and filtrate piping are negligible, and flow is laminar. Laminar flow is a vaHd assumption in most cake formation operations of practical interest. 

Horizontal filter surfaces also allow a high degree of control over cake formation. Allowances can be made for changed feeds and/or different cake quality requirements. This is particularly tme of the horizontal belt vacuum filters. With these units the relative proportions of the belt allocated to filtration, washing, drying, etc, as well as the belt speed and vacuum quality, can be easily altered to suit process changes. 

As more and more of the filtrate is removed, the slurry graduaUy thickens and may become thixotropic. The soHds content of the thickened slurry may be higher than that obtained with conventional pressure filtration, by as much as 10 or 20%. A range of velocity gradients from 70 to 500 L/s has been suggested as necessary to prevent cake formation and to keep the thickening slurry ia a fluid state (27). 

The three disadvantages described can be avoided by using soHd elements, instead of permeable ones, which create the shear to prevent or reduce cake formation. Only the stationary surface inside the filter is then available for filtration and this means a reduction in capacity. This is not a problem because the soHd disks can be slimmer and the collection of filtrate does not have to be through a hoUow shaft. 

Feed Slurry Temperature Temperature can be both an aid and a limitation. As temperature of the feed slurry is increased, the viscosity of the hquid phase is decreased, causing an increase in filtration rate and a decrease in cake moisture content. The limit to the benefits of increased temperature occurs when the vapor pressure of the hquid phase starts to materially reduce the allowable vacuum. If the hquid phase is permitted to flash within the filter internals, various undesired resiilts may ensue disruption in cake formation adjacent to the medium, scale deposit on the filter internals, a sharp rise in pressure drop within the filter drainage passages due to increased vapor flow, or decreased vacuum pump capacity. In most cases, the vacuum system should be designed so that the liquid phase does not boil. 

It is difficult to plan a filtration leaf test program until one test has been run. In the case of a bottom-feed test, the first run is normally started with the intention of using a 30-s cake formation time. However, if the filtrate rate is very high, it is usually wise to terminate the run at the end of 15 s. Should the filtrate rate be very low, the initial form period should be extended to at least 1 min. If cake washing is to... 

Simultaneously start the timer and release the crimped hose to begin cake formation. Maintain agitation during cake formation and move the leaf as may be required to ensure that sohds do not settle out in any part of the container. It is not necessary to try to simulate the velocity with which the full-scale unit s filtration surface passes through the slurry in the filter tank. 

Remove the leaf from the slurry at the end of the cake-formation period and note the time. If the slurry is particularly thick and viscous, the leaf may be gently shaken to remove excess slurry and prevent the dam from scooping up extra material. Maintain the leaf in an upright position (cake surface on top) and elevated so that hquid within the drainage passages may pass to the receiver. Tilt and rotate the leaf to help the filtrate reach the drain outlet. Continue this dewatering period until ... 

Process Concept The application of a direct elec tric field of appropriate polarity when filtering should cause a net charged-particle migration away from the filter medium. This electrophoretic migration will prevent filter-cake formation and the subsequent reduction of filter performance. An additional benefit derived from the imposed electric field is an electroosmotic flux. The presence of this flux in the membrane and in any particulate accumulation may further enhance the filtration rate. 

Filtrates that are acceptable with a low quantity of fines that pass trough the filter cloth in the first few seconds of cake formation. Broadly, and depending on particle size and cloth permeability, the filtrate may contain 1,000 to 5,000 ppm insolubles. 

The most favorable filtration operation with cake formation is process whereby no clogging of the filter medium occurs. Such a process is observed at sufficiently high concentrations of solid particles in suspension. From a practical standpoint this concentration may conditionally be assumed to be in excess of 1% by volume. Filtration is frequently accompanied by hindered or free gravitational settling of solid particles. The relative directions of action between gravity force and filtrate... 

Bierck, B. R., Wells, S. A., and Dick, R. I. (1988) "Compressible Cake Filtration Monitoring Cake Formations Using X-Rays from a Synchrotron Source," Water Pollution Control Federation Journal, Vol. 60, No. 5, 645-650... 

Various rules of thumb exist for standard water filtration rates and cycle time before backwashing. Higher filtration rates may appear to be economically justified, however, when the filter loading is within conventional limits. In this example, we examine the issues involved for constant-rate filtration for a dual-media bed. Dual- and mixed-media beds result in increased production of water in a filter for two reasons. First, the larger grains (say charcoal approximately 1-mm size) as a top layer help reduce cake formation and deposition within the small (150-mm) top layer of the bed. Second, the head loss in the region of significant filtration is reduced. 

The water production per filter run Vf is based on a relation proposed by Letter-man (1980) that assumes minimal surface cake formation by the time filtration is stopped because of head loss ... 

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