Solid/liquid separation data analysis

Figure 5.6 The role of computer software in the selection, sizing, simulation and optimisation of solid/liquid separation equipment. FDS modules (1) equipment selection (2) and (4) data analysis (3) scale-up data generation (5) equipment simulation.

The following details FDS, Windows software for the selection and simulation of solid/liquid separation equipment as well as the analysis of test data. FDS has been developed in collaboration with multi-national companies spanning a wide range of industrial sectors, the aim being to provide a comprehensive calculation, education and training tool that maintains a balance between ease of use, level of knowledge conveyed and comprehensibility. FDS is a sequence of interlinked modules that can be used independently from one another as necessary Figure 5.8 shows the Start Menu display. 

Tarleton E.S. and Wakeman R.J., 1991. Solid/Liquid Separation Equipment Simulation Design p -SELECT - Personal computer software for the analysis of filtration and sedimentation test data and the selection of solid/liquid separation equipment. Separations Technology Associates, Loughborough. 

Level 1 sampling provides a single set of samples acquired to represent the average composition of each stream. This sample set is separated, either in the field or in the laboratory, into solid, liquid, and gas-phase components. Each fraction is evaluated with survey techniques which define its basic physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. The survey methods selected are compatible with a very broad spectrum of materials and have sufficient sensitivity to ensure a high probability of detecting environmental problems. Analytical techniques and instrumentation have been kept as simple as possible in order to provide an effective level of information at minimum cost. Each individual piece of data developed adds a relevant point to the overall evaluation. Conversely, since the information from a given analysis is limited, all the tests must be performed to provide a valid assessment of the sample. 

Material balance calculations on separation processes follow the same procedures used in Chapters 4 and 5. If the product streams leaving a unit include two phases in equilibrium, an equilibrium relationship for each species distributed between the phases should be counted in the degree-of-freedom analysis and included in the calculations. If a species is distributed between gas and liquid phases (as in distillation, absorption, and condensation), use tabulated vapor-liquid equilibrium data, Raoult s law, or Henry s law. If a solid solute is in equilibrium with a liquid solution, use tabulated solubility data. If a solute is distributed between two immiscible liquid phases, use a tabulated distribution coefficient or equilibrium data. If an adsorbate is distributed between a solid surface and a gas phase, use an adsorption isotherm. 

The manufacturer requires complete solids and/or liquids data, feed size analysis, and requirements for separation. In some instances, it may be best to have a sample tested by the manufacturer in their laboratory. 

Mass transfer across the liquid-solid interface in mechanically agitated liquids containing suspended solid particles has been the subject of much research, and the data obtained for these systems are probably to some extent applicable to systems containing, in addition, a dispersed gas phase. Liquid-solid mass transfer in such systems has apparently not been studied separately. Recently published studies include papers by Calderbank and Jones (C3), Barker and Treybal (B5), Harriott (H4), and Marangozis and Johnson (M3, M4). Satterfield and Sherwood (S2) have reviewed this subject with specific reference to applications in slurry-reactor analysis and design. 

Removal of cationic impurities from water. Careful analysis of water purified by various methods (see Table 7.10) indicates that the water that is obtained by passing ordinary distilled water through a small monobed deionizer (contained in polyethylene) and a submicrometer filter is equal or superior (with respect to cations) to water obtained by distillation in conventional quartz stills, and is distinctly superior to the product from systems constructed of metal.70 From the data available in the literature, simple distillation clearly does not produce high-purity water. In practice, two effects cause contamination of the distillate. Entrainment is the major factor that prevents the perfect separation of a volatile substance from nonvolatile solids during distillation. Rising bubbles of vapor break through the surface of the liquid with considerable force and throw a fog of droplets (of colloidal dimensions) into the vapor space... 

E will be different from 1 only if R4 is small relative to / 2, resulting in a bulk concentration of c — 0 and in a real parallel mechanism of the enhancement. The advantage of the concept of the enhancement factor as defined by eq 33 is the separation of the influence of hydrodynamic effects on gas-liquid mass transfer (incorporated in Al) and of the effects induced by the presence of a solid surface (incorporated in E ), indeed in a similar way as is common in mass transfer with homogeneous reactions. The above analysis shows that an adequate description of mass transfer with chemical reaction in slurry reactors needs reliable data on ... 

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