DEWATERING

Dewatering of Cakes
By A.J. Carleton and A.G. Salway

Warren Spring Laboratory, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Herts. SG1 2BX, UK Presented at the Filtration Society meeting on 'Cake Filtration' in Manchester, UK on 20 July 1993 Crown Copyright, HMSO, London, 1993
A major o b j e c t i v e of filtration and c e n t r i f u g a t i o n is f r e q u e n t l y to p r o d u c e a c a k e w i t h as low a m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t as possible, so that e n e r g y m a y be s a v e d in d o w n s t r e a m dryers. D e w a t e r i n g t e c h n i q u e s w h i c h can be used i n c l u d e gas blowing, g r a v i t y or centrifugal drainage, and c o m p r e s s i o n . Each of t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s has its o w n range of application, so it is i m p o r t a n t for t h e user to p u r c h a s e t h e right e q u i p m e n t for t h e particular material. It is t h e n i m p o r t a n t to o p t i m i s e t h e p r o c e s s variables, in o r d e r to a c h i e v e t h e b e s t p e r f o r m a n c e from t h e e q u i p m e n t . The paper r e v i e w s a d v a n c e s m a d e o v e r the past f e w years on d e w a t e r i n g of cakes, it s h o w s h o w to o p t i m i s e the selection and operation of filters and c e n t r i f u g e s used for d e w a t e r i n g .

C [] [] [] [] []

akes formed in filters or centrifuges often need to be dewatered, in order to: save energy in d o w n s t r e a m dryers; ease cake discharge and d o w n s t r e a m handling problems; remove c o n t a m i n a t e d liquid from the cake; reduce t r a n s p o r t a t i o n costs of solid wastes; produce a solid which can be used as a load-bearing landfill.
Cake as Formed

t,er

This p a p e r reviews advances m a d e over the p a s t few years on dewatering of cakes, and shows how to optimise the selection and operation of filters and centrifuges used for dewatering.

M e t h o d s of d e w a t e r i n g
Figure 1 shows t h a t t h e r e are two ways in which a cake can be dewatered. If the cake consists of fairly coarse particles, t h e n at the end of cake formation it will have a porosity of about 50%, and a saturation (percentage of voids filled with liquid) of 100%. Such cakes can be dewatered by replacing the liquid in the pores with gas. The porosity remains unaltered but, in suitable conditions, the saturation can be reduced to 10--20%. Cakes can be d e s a t u r a t e d by allowing the liquid to drain out u n d e r a gravitational or centrifugal field, or by blowing or sucking gas t h r o u g h the cake. However, in order to replace the liquid with gas, it is necessary to overcome capillary (surface tension) forces. These increase as the pore size decreases, so a p r e s s u r e of about 30 a t m o s p h e r e s is required if the pore size is 0.1 gm. This m e a n s t h a t desaturation is a practical m e t h o d of dewatering only for coarse particle cakes. Fine particle cakes t e n d to be agglomerated, and form cakes with porosities of 60--80% or higher. These can then be c o m p r e s s e d to reduce the porosity to (say) 50%, while the saturation remains at 100%. Figure 2 shows the ranges of application of different m e t h o d s of dewatering. If the particles are coarse enough, the best way of dewatering t h e m is to p u t t h e m in a stockpile or bunker, and allow the liquid to drain out. Finer particle cakes can be dewatered by taking advantage of the higher g-forces available in a filtering centrifuge. Continuous filtering centrifuges (pushers, cone screens) are fitted with screens (typically 50 ~m a p e r t u r e ) , and so cannot be used for fine particles. However, b a t c h centrifuges can be fitted with a cloth and used to dewater fine particles. Cakes can also be d e s a t u r a t e d by sucking gas t h r o u g h t h e m on a vacuum filter, or blowing gas t h r o u g h in a p r e s s u r e filter.

Compressior and ~ t i o r

A:er Desaturation

Per meobility ( Particle Size)

Figure 1. Effect of the cake permeability on dewatering mechanisms.

Kozeny Size. pm 01 1 10 I00 1000 - Grovity

Gos Blowing (Vocuum) Gos Blowing ( Pressure ) Centrifu9 (Screen) Centrifuge (Cloth) Compression 10-16 10-14
10"12 10-10

Permeability. mz

Figure 2. Ranges of application of dewatering methods.

Filtration & Separation

November 1993

841

DEWATERING
The higher driving forces available in pressure filters allow finer particles to be dewatered t h a n in vacuum filters.

Dewatering

by gas blowing

There are three ways in which liquid can be removed from a cake during gas blowing. Table 1 gives the typical range of saturations over which these three m e c h a n i s m s predominate, and also typical figures for the volume of gas needed to remove one volume of liquid. In the early stages, gas enters the top of a pore and pushes liquid out in front of it in plug flow. This process ceases to be the main mechanism when gas breaks through the bottom of the largest pore. After that, flow in the centre of the pores forces liquid off the surface of the particles. However, this process does not remove p e n d u l a r moisture in horizontal pores at contact points between particles. If further removal of liquid is required, this can be achieved by evaporation into an u n s a t u r a t e d gas.

Models f o r a q u e o u s s y s t e m s
In many cases (aqueous systems at ambient t e m p e r a t u r e s ) the first two m e c h a n i s m s predominate, and evaporation is not significant. These cases can be characterised by an equilibrium saturation Sr (saturation achieved after a long blowing time) and a kinetics equation (the rate of achieving equilibrium). The equilibrium saturation is given by a capillary pressure curve (Figure 3) which Brooks and Co rey []] fitted to: This value of S ~ gives the p e n d u l a r moisture. If there is liquid in i n t e r n a l p o r e s w i t h i n t h e p a r t i c l e s or liquid chemisorbed to the surface, this will have to be a d d e d on to give the total irreducible saturation. Finally, A in equation (1) is a pore size distribution index, and determines the slope of the curve from the coarsest pores (at Pb) to the finest pores (at S ~ ) . The value can range from 1 to 10/2] with low values tending to be associated with small particle sizes. The use of equation (1) for predicting the equilibrium saturation is subject to uncertainties about the values of and A. However, capillary pressure curves tend to be steep, so t h a t the s h a p e of the curve is i m p o r t a n t only over the relatively narrow range P~ < P < 4Pb. Many filters operate with P > 4P~, so t h a t S,. = S ~ . In this region the values of a and A do not affect S~ directly. Brownell and Gudz Is] and others have tried to correlate Sr against a Bond number, but Carleton and Mackay [u] showed t h a t this a p p r o a c h leads to false answers.

1 -S~

--

(1)

where P is the applied pressure, and Pb is a threshold pressure below which no dewatering takes places (point A in Figure 3). It is a measure of the size of the largest pore, and is given b~ P~ aTcos0(1 e) (2)

e dK

where 7 is the gas/liquid surface tension; 0 is the solid/liquid contact angle (which is difficult to measure, so is usually assumed to have a value of 0 ) ; e is the cake porosity; dK is the Kozeny diameter of the particles (i.e. the value given from a m e a s u r e m e n t of cake permeability); and a has values in the range 1 --6. [2] The lowest values tend to be associated with fine particles (for which 9 may be > 0 ) and for materials with a wide range of sizes. In equation (1) Soc is known as the 'irreducible saturation', and consists of the p e n d u l a r moisture which cannot be removed by the displacement mechanism. In Figure 3 the point at which the line reaches Soc corresponds to the size of the finest vertical pore. Note t h a t Soc can be correlated against cake permeabilit3n.I2] S~ : - ( 0 . 0 2 l o g B + 0.10) (3)

Kinetics equation
The flow of liquid and gas through the cake obeys Darcy's law, but with the permeability term modified by a factor which is a function of cake saturation. Wakeman [4] and Baluais e t a / . [5] define this in t e r m s of p a r a m e t e r A; Brownell and Gudz [3l used a p a r a m e t e r y for the liquid and ra for the gas. Figure 4 shows typical e x p e r i m e n t a l d a t a for rates of desaturation, t o g e t h e r with the rates predicted by these three sets of authors. For this particular material y = 3.2 and = 2.6. All m e t h o d s seem to give reasonable agreement with the experimental data. The Baluais m e t h o d is quite difficult to calculate. Wakeman has produced solutions in the form of a chart for A = 5. Brownell also gives solutions in the form of a chart for y = 2.5, but his equations are easy to calculate for o t h e r values of y. The Brownell m e t h o d is easiest to use, and seems to give the closest agreement to t h e experimental d a t a shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 shows a similar curve for gas flowrates. Both models are easy to calculate, and are available in c h a r t form for = 5 and m----4 in the original papers. In this case the experimental d a t a fall between the predictions given by the Wakeman and Brownell models. In some cases we found t h a t experimental d a t a closely fitted one or o t h e r model, but neither model could be said to be consistently superior to the other. The agreement with experimental d a t a is not as good as with the desaturation data, so a safety factor should be a d d e d when sizing a c o m p r e s s o r or vacuum pump.

where B is the cake permeability.

k=2

1 P/Pb

Figure 3. Capillary pressure curves.

November 1993 Filtration & Separation

642

l(E DEWATERING
~=2
x

Wakeltwn

;k=5

30

'~
x

HPF5

Sr
20

Bro~ m=L~

0
10

I
100

I
200

I
300

DEWATERIN5 TIME, s

Figure 5. Comparison of models for predicting gas flowrate.

Evaporation
The evaporation m e c h a n i s m can be i m p o r t a n t when:
100 200 300 400 500
600

DEWATERIN5 T I M E , s

[ ] t h e gas is hot; [] the liquid is hot or volatile; [] gas blowing is e x t e n d e d for a long period. We have developed a c o m p u t e r model [7] for predicting rates of dewatering in this case, and validated it against experimental data. [sl Figure 6 shows typical curves for dewatering in p r e s s u r e filters. In the early stages most of the dewatering is due to displacement, but in the later stages evaporation becomes important. The Figure also shows t h a t cakes can be blown bonedry even if the relative humidity of the inlet gas is 100%. The reason for this apparently surprising result is that, as t h e gas passes t h r o u g h the cake, the p r e s s u r e drops. The gas is t h e n no longer saturated, so it can evaporate liquid from the cake. Blowing the gas dry in a filter saves on the need for a separate dryer, but it ties up the filter for an e x t e n d e d time, during which further batches cannot be filtered. The e x t e n d e d time period can result in t h e need to p u m p large volumes of gas, so energy requirements can be even higher t h a n those in a dryer. Figure 7 shows a typical curve for d e w a t e r i n g on a continuous vacuum filter. Here the time available for dewatering is limited, so t h a t the cake is not completely dried. The

Figure 4. rates.

Comparison of models for predicting dewatering

Crosses denote experimental points (HP'F5 sand). Curves represent: (A) Brownell, y = 2.5, (B) Brownell, y = 3.2, (C) Baluais, A = 5, (D) Baluais, A = 2, (E) Wakeman, A = 5.

Optimisation
Use of t h e above equations allows dewatering filters to be optimised. We have shown [61 how to optimise between final moisture content, gas flowrate and rate of cake production for vacuum filters. Coarse materials should be dewatered on top-fed vacuum filters. For very coarse materials (permeability > 10 - 9 m 2) gas p u m p i n g costs can be very high. Optimum conditions are achieved by minimising the gas flow, and accepting a cake with a slightly higher moisture content. This m e a n s working at a low vacuum, with thick cakes, and with a short dewatering time. With finer materials (permeability 10-11 m 2) gas flowrates are lower, so o p t i m u m conditions occur with high vacuums, thin cakes and long dewatering times. Finer materials (permeability < 10-12 m 2) may be dewatered on d r u m or disc filters. Optimum conditions occur at high filter speeds, although t h e r e may be a limit set by the minimum thickness of cake which can be discharged. In pressure filters, o p t i m u m conditions t e n d to occur at fixed ratios of discharge t i m e / f o r m t i m e / d e w a t e r i n g time. Filters with long discharge times should be o p e r a t e d with thick cakes (long form times) and long dewatering times. Ideally, all t h e s e times should be low, but there will be a limit set by the m i n i m u m thickness of cake which can be discharged. This sets a lower limit to the o p t i m u m discharge and dewatering times. Dewatering performance can also be optimised by dosing with surfactants. These can reduce surface tension, and alter the contact angle. In some cases the formation of a foam within the cake can be an advantage. The foam can provide continuous liquid drainage p a t h s through the cake, and prevent hydraulic isolation of the liquid. The presence of the foam can also reduce gas flow.
Filtration & Separation
November 1993

Figure 6. Effect of evaporation in batch filters.

B = 10 12 m 2, p = 4 bar, L = 0.1 m,

Tcl

= 20C,

TLI

= 20C.

lOO

20o

50o

lOOO
Time, s

2 O O O

5 O O O

1oooo

643

DEWATERING
In centrifuges, t h e p e n d u l a r m o i s t u r e is usually correlated against a Bond n u m b e r Bo:

Bo - B p G g
cos 0

(5)

. ,7: ....

~~,,.~,2:3:2:,o"
, , , , , , , , , ,

,....
, , . . . .

a l t h o u g h t h e e x p e r i m e n t d a t a are often scattered. 141 We find t h a t t h e a m o u n t of p e n d u l a r m o i s t u r e decreases slowly with increasing g-force a n d liquid density a n d with decreasing surface tension, a l t h o u g h t h e changes are not necessarily p r o p o r t i o n a l to each o t h e r as suggested by equation (5). The a m o u n t of p e n d u l a r m o i s t u r e is likely to d e p e n d on the coordination n u m b e r of the particles a n d on t h e i r size. Both these factors will be affected by particle size distribution a n d particle shape. Thus lumping all t h e particle p a r a m e t e r s into a single t e r m -- permeability -- may be a simplification, a n d may be t h e cause of t h e s c a t t e r in the e x p e r i m e n t a l data.
1000

50

I00 Time,$

200

500

Kinetics equation
The kinetics equations are b a s e d on film flow models, [9'1] a capillary model, [1]I or a relative permeability model similar to t h a t for gas blowing, p2] Figure 8 shows a comparison between predictions given by t h e s e models a n d typical e x p e r i m e n t a l data. This shows t h a t t h e Zeitsch model predicts very m u c h quicker d e s a t u r a t i o n t h a n occurs in practice. The o t h e r models are in reasonable a g r e e m e n t with t h e data. The Shirato model is t h e easiest to use, a n d gives good agreement. Scroll discharge d e c a n t e r centrifuges are not filtering centrifuges, b u t are used for dewatering cakes. The cake is fully s a t u r a t e d w h e n it leaves t h e pond, b u t liquid can drain out while t h e cake is on t h e beach. This is not easy to model because of uncertainties a b o u t t h e s h a p e of t h e cake, the effect of t h e scroll on breaking up t h e cake, a n d a b o u t t h e flow p a t h of t h e d r a i n i n g liquid. However using a simple drainage model (e.g. Shirato ]0 ) seems to give reasonable a g r e e m e n t with t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l data. p3]

Figure 7. Effect of evaporation in continuous filters. P = 0.7 bar, L = 0.025 m, = 150 C (dry), TLI = 20C.

Tel

Figure shows that, for c o n t i n u o u s filters, the benefit of using hot gas (150C) r a t h e r t h a n a m b i e n t gas (20C) is greatest for more p e r m e a b l e cakes. The faster dewatering with h o t gas is due to two effects. The hot gas h a s a higher s a t u r a t i o n humidity, so it is able to evaporate more liquid from t h e cake. It also m a k e s t h e liquid hot, so reducing its viscosity a n d increasing t h e rate of desaturation.

Other m e t h o d s o f c a k e d e s a t u r a t i o n
Cakes can also be d e s a t u r a t e d by blowing with steam. The s t e a m condenses, leaving a hot, low-viscosity liquid which flows rapidly. It also m a i n t a i n s a n interface between liquid a n d u n c o n d e n s e d s t e a m , p r o l o n g i n g t h e efficient p l u g flow m e c h a n i s m of dewatering. Infra-red, microwave a n d radiofrequency r a d i a t i o n can also be used to d e s a t u r a t e cakes, b u t are rarely used in practice. Ultrasonics is a n o t h e r t e c h n i q u e which h a s found limited application. A n o t h e r t e c h n i q u e which can be used in certain circumstances is to wash t h e cake with a second liquid before d e s a t u r a t i o n with gas. The second liquid m i g h t have a lower viscosity or higher volatility t h a n t h e m o t h e r liquor, a n d so would be easier to remove. A n o t h e r e x a m p l e is t h e use of oil to displace w a t e r from coal. The liquid r e m a i n i n g in the cake t h e n h a s a positive calorific value.

C o m p r e s s i o n of c a k e s
The o t h e r way of reducing t h e m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t of a cake is to compress it to reduce its porosity. There will be a n equilibrium porosity achieved after a long pressing time, a n d a kinetics e q u a t i o n giving t h e rate of achieving t h e equilibrium. The equilibrium porosity will be a function of t h e applied forces. Figure 9 shows typical d a t a for t h e effect of n o r m a l pressure. Various pieces of e q u i p m e n t can be used for producing lowporosity cakes from compressible materials. One alternative is to form t h e cake in a leaf filter o p e r a t i n g at high pressure. The cake n e x t to t h e cloth is subject to t h e full operating pressure, a n d will have t h e porosity given by Figure 9. However, t h e t o p of

D e s a t u r a t i o n in f i l t e r i n g c e n t r i f u g e s
Similar principles apply to gravity or centrifugal drainage. The equilibrium s a t u r a t i o n is m a d e up of two t e r m s -- capillary d r a i n liquid a n d p e n d u l a r liquid. Capillary d r a i n liquid is liquid which h a s not been drained o u t of vertical pores, because t h e applied force is insufficient to overcome t h e capillary forces. This leaves a height of liquid at the b o t t o m of t h e cake, known as t h e capillary drain height hd. E q u a t i o n (2) can t h u s be written as:

Figure 8. Comparison of models for centrifugal dewatering.

HPF5 sand, circles d e n o t e e x p e r i m e n t a l data. G = 506, Sr = 0.17, S ~ = 0.135, L : 19 mm, B = 1.56 x 1 0 - 1 3 m 2, e = 0.5. 1.0 f

O'S i

hd = a ' / c o s O ( 1 - e) edKpgG

(4)
0.6

~lL/SHIRATO
0.41-

where p is t h e density of t h e liquid, a n d g G is t h e acceleration due to t h e centrifugal field. One m i g h t expect t h e correlation for p e n d u l a r m o i s t u r e for gas blowing (equation 3) to apply to centrifugally drained cakes. However, body forces in a centrifuge can act directly on t h e liquid in a way in which gas flow cannot. This m e a n s t h a t t h e a m o u n t of p e n d u l a r moisture in a centrifuge cake can be lower t h a n t h a t in a filter cake dewatered a t a n equivalent pressure.
644

0.2~

/
ZEITSCH L 100 i 200 i 300 I 400 TIME, s i 500 i 600 i 700

fl i 800

OI 0

N o v e m b e r 1993

Filtration &

Separation

DEWATERING
D e w a t e r i n g in a d i a p h r a g m p r e s s
At the end of the cake formation stage in any type of cake filter, t h e solids pressure at the cake surface varies from zero at the cake surface, to the full operating pressure at t h e cloth. This results in a corresponding variation in cake porosity, which is given by Figure 10. At the end of the compression stage in a d i a p h r a g m press, the pressure t h r o u g h o u t the cake is equal to the applied operating pressure. The porosity is constant, and equal to the value corresponding to this pressure. Kinetics equations have been developed to predict the rate at which the equilibrium is reached. However, our experience is that, for highly compressible materials, simple equations are in poor agreement with e x p e r i m e n t a l data. The reasons are t h a t the models assume t h a t the compressibility and permeability are c o n s t a n t t h r o u g h o u t the cake, whereas in practice they vary. In addition, the simple models do not take account of creep -- i.e. the porosity does not reach an equilibrium value, but continues to decrease slowly over a long time period. Multi-parameter models have been developed to account for these effects (see, for example, Reference 16). However, t h e s e are of limited practical use, because the p a r a m e t e r s cannot be predicted a p r i o r i . T h e most practical way of predicting full scale performance is to carry out a small-scale test and scale-up on area. This seems to give reasonable predictions, provided t h a t the cake diameter/cake thickness ratio is > 1 on the small scale. As with gas blowing, o p t i m u m conditions occur when t h e r e is a fixed ratio between discharge time, form time and pressing time.U4,1.~]

:E 30i

"i'-

--

10 Ptessu~, bor

tO0

Figure 9. Compression curves.

t h e cake is not subject to solids pressure, so it is not compressed. Thus the average porosity is relatively high. Leaf filters are relatively cheap, though, and can be used to form any desired thickness of cake. In a filter press a greater p r o p o r t i o n of the cake is subject to a high pressure, so t h e average porosity is lower. However, presses have a fixed spacing, so a fixed thickness of cake has to be built up. This thickness may be greater t h a n t h a t for o p t i m u m operation, so low filtration rates may have to be accepted. In filters fitted with rubber diaphragms, all the cake is subjected to the full operating pressure, so low porosities can be achieved. They can be o p e r a t e d with a range of cake thicknesses, but are expensive to buy. Belt presses operate at low normal pressures, but apply some s h e a r to the cake. With suitable s h e a r thinning materials this can result in a cake with a low moisture content. Belt presses are also continuous, and so do not require expensive e q u i p m e n t for storing and recovering wet cake, which is usually required with batch filters.

Dewatering in f i l t e r p r e s s e s
Compression in a conventional filter press is much more complex t h a n in a diaphragm press. We have found t h a t equilibrium porosities vary across the plate and t h r o u g h o u t the thickness of the cake. Typical variations t h r o u g h o u t the cake are shown in Figure 11 (for magnesium hydroxide) and in Figure 12 (for kaolin). In both cases some consolidation of the cakes has occurred in the centre, so t h a t the average porosity is lower t h a n t h a t in a leaf filter. However, the porosity in p a r t s of the cake is still higher t h a n the porosity at the cloth, which c o r r e s p o n d s to a fully compressed cake. So the average porosity is higher t h a n t h a t in a d i a p h r a g m press. For the magnesium hydroxide, the w e t t e s t cake is at the centre, and the average porosity is about halfway between t h a t in a leaf filter and t h a t in a diaphragm press. However, the centre of the kaolin cake .is relatively dry. This material was s h e a r thinning, so it was consolidated by s h e a r forces in the centre of the press. The average porosity was again between t h a t in a leaf filter and t h a t in a diaphragm press. This time, however, the average value was much closer to t h a t corresponding to the d i a p h r a g m press.

Figure 10. Porosity profile of formed cake and compressed cake in a diaphragm press.

Cake Surface

Filter Medium Figure 11. hydroxide. Porosity profiles in the press, for magnesium

Cloth

Cloth

e3;
Porosity

,.,et
lUp

Compressed Cake

+1o+,.o1++

+~

'[ 3"7

Distance across

Plate, cm

Distance into Cake Filtration & Separation

November 1993 645

DEWATERING
CLOTH CLOTH

68r 661-

o~
51 UP

64 }" 62160t"

,,

/ y / O l

2 so

5810

o'.5

110
L-~2-x 10-5 (s/m2)

115

2:0

2 --DISTANCE

Figure 13. Dewatering diaphragm press.

rates in a filter press and in a

ACROSS PLATE, cm

The lower curve is for the piston press, while the upper curve is for the filter press as estimated from the piston press curve. O x L = 1.55cm, H = 7 . 2 c m L = 2.84cm, H = 18.6cm L = 3.77 cm, H = 22.9 cm A [] L = 2.92cm L = 2.58cm

Figure 12. Porosity profiles in the press, for kaoUn.

Average equilibrium porosities seem to be i n d e p e n d e n t of cake thickness. They show a slight d e p e n d e n c e on the size of t h e press, a n d decrease slightly as the size increases. Thus a m e a s u r e m e n t in a small-scale press will give a conservative prediction of the equilibrium porosity in a full-size press. Figure 13 show-s t h e rates of dewatering in a d i a p h r a g m press and in a filter press. The d a t a are plotted as reduced time, t / L 2, which brings d a t a for different cake thicknesses onto a single line. Each point on t h e curve for t h e d i a p h r a g m press c o r r e s p o n d s to a point on the filter p r e s s curve, which allows the latter to be predicted from m e a s u r e m e n t s m a d e in a d i a p h r a g m p r e s s (or p i s t o n p r e s s ) . The two curves are displaced in both t h e x- and y-directions, so two corrections need to be applied to the diaphragm press data. The correction in the y-direction is required because the equilibrium porosity is higher for the filter press. The two curves are displaced in the x-direction because more liquid has to flow t h r o u g h the cake in the filter press. In the diaphragm press the only liquid which flows through t h e cake is t h a t corresponding to the difference between the initial and final porosities of the cake. However, in the filter press, compression of the cake is achieved by p u m p i n g more slurry into t h e press. Thus e x t r a solids e n t e r the p r e s s to reduce the porosity of the cake, but e x t r a liquid is brought into the press at the same time. The quantity of additional liquid d e p e n d s on the concentration of the feed slurry, but it is known a n d so a correction can be applied.
References 1 Brooks, R.H. and Corey, AT.: 'Hydraulic properties of porous media'. Hydrology Papers, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, 1964. 2 Carleton, AJ. and Mackay, DA.: 'Assessment of models for predicting the dewatering of filter cakes by gas blowing', Filtration & Separation, May/June 1988, 25(3), pp. 187-- 191.

3 Brownell, LE. and Gudz, G.B.: 'Blower requirements of rotary drum vacuum filters', Chem. Eng., 1949, 56(9), pp. 112--115. 4 Wakeman, R~I.: 'The performance of filtration post treatment processes', Filtration & Separation, 1979, 16, pp. 655--669. 5 Baluais, G., Dodds, J.A. and Tondeur, T.: 'A model for the desaturation of porous media as applied to filter cakes', Int. Chem. Eng., 1985, 25, pp. 436--447. 6 Carleton, AA.: 'Optimisation of dewatering filters', J. Separation Process Technology, 1982, 3(4), pp. 14--20. 7 Carleton, AJ. and Salway, A.G.: 'E~poration effects in gas blowing'. Proceedings of Filtech 87, Utrecht, The Netherlands (The Filtration Society, 1987), pp. 8-- 17. 8 Carleton, A.J., Salway, A.G. and Melling, J.: 'Validation of a model for predicting evaporation rates during gas blowing'. Proceedings of Filtech 89, Karlsruhe, Germany (The Filtration Society, 1989), pp. 246--253. 9 Nenniger, E. and Storrow, J.A.: 'Drainage of packed beds in gravitational and centrifugal force fields', AIChE J., 1958, 4, pp. 320-- 327. 10 Shirato, M. et al.: 'Centrifugal dehydration in a packed particulate bed', Int. Chem. Eng., 1983, 23, pp. 298--306. 11 Zeitsch, K.: 'Theory of centrifugal drainage'. Proceedings of International Symposium on Liquid/Solid Filtration, EFCE, Event 198, 1978, pp. 89--107. 12 Wakeman, RJ. and Vince, A.: 'Kinetics of gravity drainage from porous media', Chem. Eng. Res. & Dev. 1986, 64, pp. 94-- 103. 13 Salway, A.G., Carleton, A.J., Taylour, J.M. and Mackay, D.J.: 'Dewatering on the beach of decanter centrifuges'. Proceedings of 5th World Filtration Congress, Nice, France, June 1990, voL 2, pp. 304--310. 14 Carleton, AJ. and Moir, D.N.: 'Optimisation of compression filters'. Proceedings of Conference on Solids/Liquids Separation Practice, Leeds, UK (Institution of Chemical Engineers, 1984), pp. 14-- 20. 15 Carleton, A.J.: 'Dewatering filter cakes by compression'. Institution of Chemical Engineers Symposium Series, 1985, 91, pp. 175-186. 16 Shirato, M. et aL: 'Deliquoring by expression', in Wakeman, RJ.: 'Progress in filtration, vol. 4' (Elsevier, 1986), pp. 181- 287.

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OIffRACTSOFREFEREED PAPERS
Gas cleaning by wel electrostatic precipitation - new prospects Gasrelnlgung durch elektrostatlsche NaBausfillung - neue Ausslchten
yon C. E y r a u d
Die Hauptfunktion eines Gegenstrom-Reinigungselektrofilters mit mehreren Stadien besteht -- je nach der relativen Toxizitat der einzelnen Giftstoffe bzw. dem kommerziellen Nutzen der ROckgewinnung eines der Stoffe - entweder in der Entstaubung oder in der Absorption gasfSrmiger LSsungsstoffe. Bet einem Reinigungse/ektrofilter erfolgt Absorption durch mechanisches oder elektrisches AufsprOhen einer ReinigungsflOssigkeit, in der die Beschaffenheit und die Menge der chemischen Reaktionsmittel auf die einzelnen Stadien des Stoffaustauschprozesses eingestellt sind. (3 sn., 3 abb., 10 teL)

Equation des gaz par precipitation (~lectrlque humlde - nouvelles perspectives

p a r C. E y r a u d
La fonetion principale d'un electrofiltre a lavage multi-etage a contre-courant est soit le depoussierage soit /'absorption de composes gazeux suivant la toxicite relative de chaque polluant ou I'inter~t commercial fib a la recuperation de I'un d'entre eux. Dans un electrofiltre laveur, I'absorption est realisee par pulverisation mecanique ou electrique d'un liquide de lavage dans lequel la nature et la quantite des reactifs chimiques sent adaptees a chaque etage de transfert de masse (3 pags., 3 figs., 10 refs.)

Llmplar gases per preclpltacl6n electrost~llca bale condlclones humedas - nuevas perpectlvas
p o r C. E y r a u d
El propdsito mayor de emplear un filtro e/ectrostatico con lavamiento multietapa contracorriente es o colecciOn de polvo o absorci6n de solubles gaseosos segun la toxicidad relativa de cada contaminante o el provecho comercial del recobro de uno de e/los. Se realiza absorcion en un filtro de este tipo per rociar, de metodo mecanico o electrico, con un solvente que se compone de reactivos quimicos de tipos y cantidades calculados para cada etapa de la transferencia de masa. (3 pags., 3 figs., 10 refs.)

Dewaterlng of cakes Kuchenentwisserung

von A.J. Carleton u n d A.G. S a l w a y
bestimmtes Material die richtige AusrOstung erwirbt. DarOber hinaus ist es wesentlich, dieProzefJvariablenzuoptimieren, umderAusrOstungdiebesteLeistungabfordernzu k6nnen. Das Referat befaBt sich mit Fortschritten, die im Laufe der letzten Jahre auf dem Gebiet der Kuchenentwasserung erzielt wurden. Es enthalt eine Beschreibung der optimalen Auswahl bzw. des optimalen Betriebs yon Filtern und Zentrifugen, die zur Kuchenentw~sserung eingesetzt werden. (6 sn., 13 abb., 1 tab., 16 ref.)

Der Zweck des Filtrierens und Zentrifugierens besteht haupts~chlich darin, einen Kuchen mit moglichst niedrigem Wassergehalt zu erzeugen, damit in den nachfolgenden Trocknungsvorg~ngen Energie gespart wird. Zu den mdglichen Entw~sserungsmethoden gehOren u.a. Gasblasung, Schwerkraft oder zentrifugale Dranage sowie Komprimierung. Die einzelnen Methoden sind leweils for bestimmte Anwendungsbereiche geeignet. Es ist daher wichtig, dab der Anwender fOr ein

Deshydratatlon des g,~teaux

p a r A.J. Carleton et A. G. S a l w a y
Un des ob/ectifs majeurs de la filtration et de la centrifugation est frequemment de produire un g~teau avec la plus petite humidite poss b e, de fagon a economiser de I'energie dans les sechoirs subsequents. Les techniques de deshydratation qui peuvent #tre utilisees incluent le soufflage d'air, le drainage gravitaire ou centrifuge et la compression. Chacune de ces techniques a ses propres domaines d'appficafion aussi est-il important pour I'utilisateur d'acquerir requipement le plus adequat pour

D,

son materiau. II est des Iors important d'optimiser les variables du precede de maniere a obtenir les meilleures performances de son materiel. Ce article passe en revue les progres effectues ces dernieres annees dans la deshydfatafion des g&teaux. II montre comment optimiser le choi et les conditions de fonctionnement des filtres et centrifuges utilises dans la deshydratation. (6 pags,, 13 figs,, 1 tab., 16 rets.)

Deshldratacl6n de tortas
p o r A.J. Carleton y A.G. S a l w a y
Un mayor objetivo de filtracion y de centrifugaci6n es producir a menudo una torta con el contenido mas bale posible de humedad, para economizar energia de secamiento. Se puede emplear tecnicas de deshidrataci6n que incluyen soplar con gases, desaguar per gravedad o fuerza centrifuga, o per compresiSn. Cada tecniea tiene su gama de aplicaciones, de mode que es muy importante para el usuarie comprar el equipo apropiado a la materia empleada. Luego es importante optimisar los variables de proceso para realizar el mejor rendimiento del equipo. El articulo evalua progreso de aF]os recien pasados en la deshidratacion de tortas. Se demuestra come optimisar la seleccicn y el funcionamiento de filtros y de centrifugas empleados en deshidrataci6n (6 pags., 13 figs., 1 tab,, 16 refs.)

Ak

Practical guide to the selection and operation of balch-lype filtering basket centrifuges Praktlsche Anhallspunkte zur Auswahl und zum Betrieb yon FIItertrommelzenlrlfugen zur Batch-Verarbeltung
von J. Wright
'einheitlichen Standardaufschlammung' entspricht -- seine Kennwerte in eine Formel einzubringen. Pra~ische Erfahrungen sind daher einfach unersetzlich. Aus diesem Grunde befaSt sich das Referat insbesondere mit einem praktischen Ansatz zur Auswahl vertikaler Spindeltrommelzentrifugen zur Batch-Verarbeitung sowie mit einer Betrachtung der Vor- und Nachteile. Gleichzeitig werden Faktoren, die sich auf die Filtration auswirken, MSglichkeiten der Leistungsverbesserung, typische Anwendungsgebiete und kleine Pilotanlagen untersucht. (7 sn., 9 abb., 1 tab., 2 reL)

Die Auswahl einer Zentrifuge ist -- auch im Zeitalter der Technologie -- nach wie vet eher eine Kunst als eine exakte Wissenschaft: Es fiegt daher auf der Hand, dab die Arbeit auf Pilotanlagen sowie bereits bestehende Erfahrungen mit ahnlichen Erzeugnissen eine bedeutende Retie spielen, wenn man eine geelgnete Zentrifuge for ein neues, unbekanntes oder nicht identifiziertes Produkt sucht. Obwohl es hinreichend wissenschaftliche Formeln zur Auswahl von Zentrifugen gibt, ist es oft knifflig -- da ein spezifisches Produkt kaum leweils den Vorstellungen von einer

Un guide pratique pour le cholx et les conditions de fonctlonnement des essoreuses a panler du type batch
p a r J. Wright
Le choix d'une centrifuge, m~me a cette epoque de technologie, tend a ~tre plus un 'art' qu'une science. Des lots, on peut considerer que des essais pilotes ou I'experience anterieure sur des produits similiaires sent essentiels pour choisir la centrifuge pour un nouveau produit inconnu ou non identifie. En depit des formules scientifiques etablis pour la selection des appareils, ceci est une realite car un produit particulier s dentif e rarement ace qu'on pourrait appeler 'une suspension standard' et par consequent ses caracteristiques ne peuvent pas entrer comme telles dans une formule. II n'y a donc aucune alternative valable a I'exp~rimentation. Cet article couvre plus particulierement I'approche pragmatique du choix des eseoreuses a panier vertical et passe en revue les avantages et inconvenients de ce type de machine, En m~me temps, il considere les facteurs affectant la filtration, les moyens pour ameliorer I'efficacite, des applications typiques et des essais a echelle pilote reduite, (7 pags., 9 figs., 1 tab., 2 refs.)

Una gula prictlca a la seleccl6n y el funclonamlento de centrifugas con cesta flltrante en tratamlento per Iotes
p o r J. Wright
La selecci6n de una centrifuga, aun on esta edad tecnologica, parece ser mas arte que ciencia. De este mode se puede ver que necesitan pruebas a escala piloto y experiencia previa de productos semejantes para elegir una centriluga apropiada a un nuevo producto desconocido o no identificado aun. Es decir, a pesar de formulas cientificas establecidas para elegir centrifugas, en reafidad, come un producto determinado se aproxima faramente a una pasta uniforme estander, no se puede anotar sus caracteristicas on una formula. La experiencia probada es insustituible. Esta ponencia abarca este enfoque mas practice a la selecci6n de centrifugas verticales, con cesta filtrante en tratamiento per Iotes, y enumera ventalae y desventajas. AI mismo fiempo considera factores que afeetan filtraci6n, metodos de ame/orar rendimiento, aplicaciones tipicas, y pruebes a escala piloto. (7 pegs,,9 figs., 1 tab., 2 refs.)

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Filtration & Separation