Vertical filter presses

The vertical filter press, like the horizontal press, is strictly speaking a batch operating filter, but is more correctly called a semi-continuous filter, because the cake is discharged from all of the compartments at the same time. When the filtration cycle starts, the plate assembly (Figure 3.73) closes, and slurry is fed to all of the compartments at the same time. Cakes form on top of the filter medium in each compartment. Once filtration is complete, diaphragms are forced hydraulically down on the cakes to dewater them. Then the diaphragms are relaxed, wash water is introduced, and the cakes squeezed once again, followed by a compressed air blast to dry them further. At this point, the plate assanbly opens, and the continuous band of filter medium advances... 

The vertical filter press is a very effective unit, fully automatic in operation, though somewhat expensive. It occupies less floor space than a horizontal filter press of the same filtration area. 

The vertical recessed plate automatic press is shown schematically in Figure 15. Unlike the conventional filter press with plates hanging down and linked in a horizontal direction, this filter press has the plates in a horizontal plane placed one upon another. This design offers semicontinuous operation, saving in floor space, and easy cleaning of the cloth, but it allows only the lower face of each chamber to be used for filtration. 

Screw presses (Fig. 2) do not produce a clear liquid product. Frequendy, the product is further filtered in a filter press to give a clear Hquid product. Press aids are added to feed materials containing fine particles or particles that can deform and plug the slots in the edge of a screw press. Typical press aids include sawdust, rice hulls, perlite, and diatomaceous earth (see Diatomite). A vertical screw press is a continuous press that has been used for dewatering sewage sludge (2). 

Plate pr esses. Sometimes called sheet filters, these are assemblies of plates, sheets of filter media, and sometimes screens or frames. Thev are essentially modified filter presses with practically no cakeholding capacity. A press may consist of many plates or of a single filter sheet between two plates, the plates may be rectangular or circular, and the sheets may lie in a horizontal or vertical plane. The operation is similar to that of a filter press, and the flow rates are about the same as for disk filters. The operating pressure usually does not exceed 138 kPa (20 psig). The presses are used most frequently for low-viscosity liqmds, but an ordinaiy filter press with thin frames is commonly used as a clarifier for 100-Pa s (1000-P) rayon-spinning solution. Here the filtration pressure may be 6900 kPa (1000 psig). 

Variable-Volume Filter Presses These membrane filter presses are covered in the section on filtration. Two designs are used for the presses (1) the typical variable-volume filter press has a normal vertical leaf design (2) other presses, such as those provided by Filtra-Systems and Larox, are designed with horizontally arranged leaves. 

Pressure filters or filter presses are commonly of the batch type, and are characterized by smaller floor area, high filtration rates, and lower capital cost. Dryer cakes are produced. The chemical industry uses these filters more widely than mineral processing industries, mainly because of its batch operation. The most common types of pressure filters used are the plate and frame presses. These comprise a series of vertical, alternating parallel frames and plates, with the filter cloth being held against the plate and the formation of cake occurring in the hollow frame. 

Various filter designs are available to the industry, including plate and frame filter presses, horizontal tank/ vertical leaf pressure filters with retractable bundles or shells, and vertical tank/vertical leaf pressure filters. The latter (Figure 29) has been accepted by the industry as perhaps the best overall choice in terms of price, performance, space requirements, and ease of automation. Filter sizes up to 85-m filter area/filter are available with this model. However, the horizontal tank/vertical leaf model with either retractable bundle or retractable shell also has its proponents. Commonly, a major factor in deciding on this type filter is the fact that these units are available in sizes up to 200-m filter area/filter. 

Conventional hydrochloric acid electrolyzers consist of 30-36 individual cells connected in series (bipolar arrangement). The cells are formed from vertical electrode plates manufactured from graphite, between which there are diaphragms (for instance made from PVC fabric, distance to the plates ca. 6 mm). The feed with hydrochloric acid (22 wt%, identical for anode and cathode compartment) and the removal of the gases produced take place according to the filter press principle (see Chapter 2). Chlorine leaves the cell with the anolyte, hydrogen with the catholyte. 

Horizontal Diaphragm Presses This is similar to the diaphragm press except the filter plates lay horizontally (while in diaphragm press, the filter plates are operated vertically). The press can be a singlechamber unit, or multiple chambers can be stacked to achieve greater filtration area. 

The testing for evaluating the horizontal diaphragm press is the same as that described above for the (vertical) diaphragm presses. To ensure automatic operation, the cake solids should not stick to the seal of the filter chamber and need to be carefully evaluated during testing. 

Parallel-plate flow cells Most electrochemical flow cells are based on a parallel-plate electrode design with either horizontal or, more commonly, vertical electrodes in a monopolar or bipolar configuration (see Figure 26.12). With vertical electrodes, the cell is usually constructed in a plate-and-frame arrangement and mounted on a filter press. 

Classification of automatic filter presses now in practical use are as follows recessed-plate type and plate-and-frame type lateral type and vertical type fixed filter-cloth type and filter cloth-traveling type. 

FIGURE 58.12 Vertical, recessed-plate, endless filter clothtraveling, expression-type automatic filter press. (From Shirato, M. et al., Filtration—Principles and Practice, eds. M.J. Matteson and C. Orr, Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 299 23, 1987. With permission.)... 

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