UNIT: 4

Filter types
• The most common types of filters are ‘cake
filters

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 Filter types

1. Discontinuous Pressure Filters:

Apply large ∆P across septum to give economically rapid
filtration with viscous liquids or fine solids.

2. Vacuum Filter:
Vacuum filters are simple and reliable machines and
therefore have gained wide acceptance in the chemical,
food and pharmaceutical industries.

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Types of filtration
Cake filtration
Deep bed filtration
Key points
Filters that retains appreciable visible quantities of filtered solids
on the surface of the filter medium are referred to as cake filters.

Filters that remove small amounts of solids to produce sparkling

clear liquid are referred to as deep bed filters.

METHOD OF OPERATION: FILTERS CLASSIFICATION

Batch Filters
Continuous filters
Batch Process
A process that is not continuous or mass production.
Operations are carried out at discrete quantities of material or a
limited number of items.
Continuous Process

Industrial process that continuously receives raw materials and

processes them through to completed units.
BATCH PROCESS
Good for small amounts of specialty chemicals.
Make a range of products using same equipment.
Can schedule maintenance & inspections to equipment in
between batches.
Good for developing new products.
Easier to scale up from lab scale.
Generally cheaper set up costs.
Employees understand the process well.

Frequent startup & shutdown, cleaning needed between

batches, not good for bulk production
CONTINUOUS PROCESS
Good for large volumes.
Fewer start-up and shutdowns-UPTIME.
Potentially greater yield.
Potentially easier to maintain quality or spot out the specification of product
sooner.

Higher initial costs, employees knowledge over the process is limited,

requires periodic shutdown of whole plant for inspection and maintenance.
Filters Classification: As per driving force
Gravity
Pressure
Vacuum or centrifugal

In filtration operation, liquid filtrate is forced to flow through the filter
medium by virtue of the pressure differential across the medium that may be
created by the above driving forces.

Gravity filters
Pressure filters
Vacuum filters
Centrifugal filters
Industrial cake filters: Classified
1. Batch Pressure filters (discontinuous)
(Filter press-plate and frame press, pressure leaf filters)
2. Continuous Pressure filters
(pressure filter-thickener, continuous rotary pressure filters
3. Batch vacuum filters (vacuum leaf filters)
4. Continuous vacuum filters (rotary drum filters)
5. Centrifugal filters (batch and continuous)

Mostly used filters: plate and frame, leaf filter, rotary drum filter, basket
centrifuge
Types of filtration
1. Constant Pressure filtration
2. Constant rate filtration

1. Method in which the Pressure drop over the filter is constant throughout
the run so that rate of filtration is maximum at the start of filtration and
decreases continuously towards the end of run.

2. Method in which the Pressure drop is varied usually from minimum at the
start of filtration to a maximum at the end of filtration, so that rate of filtration
is constant throughout the run.
Distribution of overall pressure drop
1. During filtration, the solids are retained in the form of cake through the filter. The
filtrate has to pass through the three resistances in series.
1. Resistance of feed and filtrate channel
2. Resistance of cake
3. Resistance offered by filter medium

Overall pressure drop over filter at any time, sum of individual pressure drops over
medium and cake.

1. Usually, resistance offered by inlet and outlet connections are very small as
compared to other resistances.

2. Cake resistance is offered by all the solids., it is zero at t=0 but increases with
time of filtration.

3rd one, it is the entire resistance built up in the filter medium including that from
trapped particles. It is important in early stages of filtration.
Section through filter medium cake showing
Pressure drop
Industrial cake filters: Classified
If the resistance of channels is neglected then the overall pressure drop is
the sum of pressure drops over medium and cake.

∆P = Pa − Pb = ∆PC + ∆Pm -------Eqn-1

 ∆P = Overall pressure drop ∆Pm = Pressure drop over medium

∆Pc = Pressure drop over cake Pa Pb = = Inlet and outlet pressure

SPECIFIC CAKE RESISTANCE

A specific cake resistance can be defined by the equation

∆PC A
α =
µumC ----Eqn-2
Industrial cake filters: Classified
 u, is the linear velocity of the filtrate based on the filter area mc is the mass
of solids in cake, units of specific cake resistance is m/kg.

Filter medium RESISTANCE

The filer medium resistance can be defined by the equation

∆Pm
= µu ----Eqn-3
Rm
∆Pm ----Eqn-4
Rm =
µu

Rm has the units of m-1. By rearranging the above equations we get

Industrial cake filters: Classified
µumcα ------Eqn-5
By rearranging the above equation Eqn-2 we get ∆Pc =
A

By rearranging the above equation Eqn-4 we get ∆Pm = µuRm ------Eqn-6

Putting the values of Eqn-5 and 6 in to Eqn 1, we get

µumcα
∆P = Pa − Pb = ∆PC + ∆Pm = + µuRm
A

 
m α
∆P = µu  c + Rm  ----------Eqn-7
 A 
 

If “c” is the mass of particles deposited in the filter per unit volume of filtrate, then
mass of solids in the filter at time, t is given by mc=c V ----------Eqn-8
Industrial cake filters: Classified
 dV  1
u=  ------Eqn-9
 dt  A

Where V is the volume of filtrate collected from the start of filtration to time t
and A is the filter area normal to the direction of flow of filtrate.

Substituting eqn- 8 and 9 in eqn-7. we get

dV ∆P
= ----------Eqn-10
Adt  
cVα
µ + Rm 
 A 
 

The above equation expresses the instantaneous rate of filtration per unit area of the
filtering surface as the ratio of pressure drop to the product of the viscosity of the
filtrate and sum of the cake resistance and the filter medium resistance.
Constant pressure filtration
When Pressure drop is constant, the only variables in equation 10 are V and t
When t=0, V=0 and ∆P = ∆Pm µRm  dt  1
Hence, =  = ----------Eqn-11
A∆P  dV  0 q0
So, Equation -10 can be written as

 dt  1 1
  = = K cV + ----------Eqn-12
 dV  q q0
 dt µαcV µRm
 = 2 = ----------Eqn-13
 dV A ∆P A∆P
 dt 1
  = K cV + ----------Eqn-14
 dV q0
µαc
Kc = 2 ----------Eqn-15
A ∆P
Constant pressure filtration
Integrating equation-14, t=0, V=0 and t=t, V=V, we get
 K cV 2  V
t =   + ----------Eqn-16
 2  q0
Putting values of Kc and 1/q0 in equation-16 we get

µαc µRmV
t= V +
2 ----------Eqn-17
2 A ∆P
2
A∆P
µ  αc  V 
2
 Vm 
t=    + Rm  
----------Eqn-18

∆P  2  A   A

t Kc 1
= V + ----------Eqn-19
V 2 q0
Industrial cake filters: Classified
Hence the plot of t/V Vs V will be a linear plot with a slope equal to Kc/2
and an intercept of 1/q0. From such plots and equations, specific cake
resistance and filter medium resistance can be determined.