SME Annual Meeting March 1-3, 1999, Denver, Colorado

Preprint 99-60
FILTER CAKE STRUCTURE AS REVEALED BY 3D SIMULATION USING THE MONTE CARLO METHOD
G. E. S. Valadao Univ. Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte, Brazil C. L. Lin J. D. Miller Univ. of Utah Salt Lake City, UT ABSTRACT Filtration is an important solid liquid separation technology employed widely in the mineral processing industries. The effectiveness of the filtration operation can be influenced by numerous variables, related to the particulate phase, the slurry rheology and the equipment. The classical approach for analysis is based on Darcy's law. Knowledge of the cake pore microstructure and its correlation to macroscopic cake properties is required to model the filtration operation from a fundamental point of view. Since cake formation seems to occur randomly, a 3D Monte Carlo method was used to simulate cake formation. The configuration for simulation was a space with width of 500 m, length of 500 m and height of 4000 m. Size distributions of five different industrial products whose particle size distributions follow the Rosin Rammler distribution function were used. The particle shape was assumed to be spherical. The simulated cake structures were described in terms of volume porosity (volume of pore space per unit volume of cake) and surface porosity (area of pore space per unit area of a cross section). The results indicate: 1) it is possible to simulate 3D packing, which mimics cake structure, using the Monte Carlo method, 2) segregation phenomena occurs during simulated cake formation, 3) the values of calculated porosity for simulated samples B, C, D, and E were lower than those determined for corresponding industrial products Br, Cr, Dr, and Er, and 4) some structures of simulated samples seem to correlate with laboratory leaf test data obtained for different products from plant operations. INTRODUCTION Filtration is an important operation employed in mineral processing plants in which slurry is forced through a medium (usually a cloth) in such way the particulate phase (filter cake) is retained and liquid passes through the medium (Dahlstrom and Silverblatt, 1977; Svarosvky, 1977). Generally, a high filter cake moisture is not desirable because it may affect transportation costs, material handling, and efficiency of subsequent operations (Tiller, 1975a). A filter cake can be described as a packed bed of particles with a complex system of interconnected inter-particle voids. The classical approach medium (Dahlstrom and Silverblatt, 1977; Svarosvky, 1977; Tiller, 1975; Ranjan and Hogg, 1996) for filtration is based on Darcy's law, an empirical equation that describes the one dimensional fluid flow through a uniform incompressible porous medium. In fact, with respect to an actual filtration system, this description is simplified. Research workers (Tiller, 1975a, 1975b; Kakwani et el, 1984; Shirato, 1972; Bourgeois and Lyman, 1997; Bourgeois and Barton, 1998) have demonstrated that a filter cake is not of uniform character. Normally the porosity is highest at the cake surface and decreases through its depth. The distributions of pore size and shape for filter cakes are usually unknown and difficult to measure. A 3D Monte Carlo method (Yen et al, 1998) was used in this work to simulate cake formation. Size distributions of five different industrial products whose particle size distributions follow the Rosin Ramler distribution function were used, The simulated cake structures are described in terms of volume porosity (volume of pore space per unit volume of bed) and

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surface porosity (area of pore space per unit area of a cross section). The values of calculated cake porosity for each simulated sample (A, B, C, D and E) were compared with laboratory leaf test data obtained for different products from plant operations. PARTICLE PACKING STRUCTURE The knowledge of pore microstructure and its correlation to macroscopic cake properties seems to be an appropriate approach for filtration modeling based on fundamental considerations (Miller and Lin, 1997). Some techniques can be used, within limits, to obtain direct information about the 3D pore structure (Owen and Green, 1996). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging instruments map spin densities and relaxation times of hydrogen, and in this way resolves the filling of pore space by fluids. Computerized tomography (CT) is able to show the distribution of solid grains, and pore space filling by liquids or gases. Finally it appears that laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) can precisely image the thin optical planes within thicker porous rock samples. Pore structures have been characterized by experimental observation. Carman (1937) commented on research carried out using spheres to simulate packing beds. More recently, other researchers (Dexter and Tanner, 1972; Van Brakel and Heertjes, 1974; Wakeman, 1975) studied the effect of size distribution on the packing density. Microscopic data of thin or polished sections of porous medium have been used to characterize the pore structure (Bourgeois and Barton, 1998; Jernot et al, 1992; Saltzman et al, 1987; Orem et al, 1996). A 3D image can be obtained from these microscopic data by: direct analysis of material using a set of sections, and mathematical/statistical models. Theoretical models (Ranjan and Hogg, 1996; Ouchlyama and Tanaka, 1984; Yu and Standish, 1987) have been proposed to estimate structural properties and transport phenomena in porous beds. In some cases a reasonable agreement is found between the predicted and calculated parameters. Computer simulations have been performed in 2D (Kaush et al, 1971; Rosato et al, 1986) and 3D (Chatzis and Dullien, 1977; Rodriguez et al, 1986; Soppe, 1990; Konakawa and Ishizaki, 1990; Reyes and Iglesia, 1991; Nolan and Kavanagh, 1993; Hogue and Newland, 1994 and Hwang et al, 1997) in order to obtain and study packing structures. It was observed that the 3D models are more realistic for mimic the cake structure than the 2D models.

SIMULATION USING MONTE CARLO METHOD Since particle bed of a filter cake seems to be organized randomly together with some kind of segregation, a Monte Carlo method could be a useful tool for the simulation of cake structure. A 3D Monte Carlo computer simulation has been done in this work to simulate cake formation. The methodology follows the work of Rosato et al (1986) but in this case the cake structure is achieved in 3D. A random number (rn) is initially used to generate the center coordinates of each hard spherical particle within a right vertical container. The pair interaction energy U(s) is defined as:

where: ds = the sum of radii of two spherical particles s = the separation distance between the centers of the two particles When simulation starts the particles are created an denoted by:

where: rj = the location (xj, yj, zj) in the coordinate system and j denotes the jth particle. The total energy of the system E(r*) can be calculated:

where:

where: m = mass of the jth particle g = gravitational acceleration The Boltzmann distribution gives the probability that a specified configuration having energy E(r) will occur:

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Table I. Size distribution by weight, number of spheres calculated for each size interval, the values of a, and dc, for simulated samples A, B, C, D and E. where: nf = partition function (normalization constant) kb = Boltzmann constant T = absolute temperature During a cycle, all particles are moved one at a time. The new particle position (trial position) is obtained by the multiplication of a triplet of generated random number (nx, ny, nz) by a small positive number. After each trial, if the total energy decreases (E = Ei(r*)-E(r*) < 0) the trial is accepted to replace the current configuration. If it does not occur, the probability p(E) is calculated:

If the value calculated p(E) > rn the new configuration replaces the old one as the current configuration. If p(E) < rn the old configuration is kept as the current configuration. The simulation stops according to a fixed number of cycles. The 3D cake formation simulation was performed using a computer program (Yen and Lin, 1996) which was written in C language and run in a Sun Workstation. The configuration of the environment for simulation was a space with width of 500 m, length of 500 m and height of 4000 m. Initially, the size distribution of five industrial products (pellet feed) (At, Br, Cr, Dr, and Er) of Mineracoes Brasileiras Reunidas (MBR), in the iron concentrators of Aguas Claras and Pico (Minas Gerais, Brazil), were considered for simulated samples (A, B, C, D, and E). Table I shows, for each sample considered, the size distribution, the number of particles considered for each size interval of these samples, the values of (dispersion constant) and dc (absolute size constant). The number of particles was obtained from the weight of particles in each size interval using the particle density and size.

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The porosity values obtained at 10000 cycles for samples A, B, C, D and E, are respectively: 46.97%, 42.76%, 43.11%, 44.09%, 43.75%. These values represent packing structures usually referred to as random-loose packings (Reyes and Iglesia, 1991), and were calculated considering the total space occupied by the particles which was 512 m in length, 512 m in width and a final height of cake structure formed. The cake porosity of actual industrial products was roughly estimated from leaf test data using the weight of dry and wet cakes. The results were 36.48% for Ar, 55.43% for Br, 54.71% for Cr, 57.29% for Dr, and 56.79% for Er. It is evident that the industrial products have a higher porosity than the simulated samples, except for sample Ar whose value is lower than the corresponding simulated sample A. The 3D image of the simulated cakes and the surface porosity characteristics with respect to the cake depth can be observed for all samples in Figures 1(a,c,d), 2 (a,c,d), 3(a,c,d), 4(a,c,d), and 5(a,c,d). A screen capture program, and View3d (Eberly, 1998) software were used to obtain these images, It can be observed, from the 3D images, that the coarse particles tend to reach the top of the cake structure due to segregation. Similar behavior was observed by Rosato et al (1986) for 2D packing structures. This segregation mechanism may be seen more clearly in the Figures l(c,d), 2(c,d), 3(c,d), 4(c,d), and 5(c,d) which show images of the top view and bottom view of the simulated cakes through 10000 cycles. The coarse particles predominate at the top of the cake and smaller particles at the bottom. The cake bottom structures may be grouped according to their similarity: samples A, B, D in one group, and samples C, E in another group. The smaller particles are predominant in the first group and the structures seem to be more closed. Particles from different sizes join the smaller particles and form a more open structure in the second group. It should be noted that the industrial plant and leaf test data establish the filtration performance, which under normal conditions, is higher (i.e. > form filtration rate and < cake moisture) when Cr and Er are used as filtration feed. Therefore, a preliminary relationship between these cake structures and the filtration behavior is supposed. Cross-sections, every 1 m of depth, were done for the simulated cakes and the surface porosity was determined for each section by means of a computer program (Lin, 1997). The surface porosity behavior for the simulated cakes is shown in Figures 1(b), 2(b), 3(b), 4(b), and 5(b). Higher values of surface porosity are observed at both the bottom and top of the cake structure. Although sample A presents higher values of surface porosity, the variation of the surface porosity with cake depth is similar for all samples. This behavior is in good agreement with the experimental results reported by

Van Brakel and Heertjes (1974) who used x-ray absorption to determine the variation in surface porosity with depth in the packing structures. Detailed information regarding the structure of filter cake is an important technological matter since mathematical models will require this information in order to predict and optimize the industrial operations. The simulated cake structures reported in this work will be used subsequently for the analysis of filtration data, and for the development of a structure-based mathematical model. It is expected that x-ray microtomography eventually will be used to experimentally examine actual cake structures in order to verify such simulations. CONCLUSIONS It is possible to simulate a 3D packing, which mimics cake structure, using the Monte Carlo method. The simulated cakes represent what is usually referred to a random-loose packing ( > 42%). The calculated values of porosity for simulated samples B, C, D, and E were lower than those determined for industrial products Br, Cr, Dr, and Er. The value of the porosity for sample A was greater than for sample Ar. The 3D images obtained for simulated samples (A, B, C, D, and E) indicate the significance of segregation mechanism in cake formation. The simulated cake bottom structures obtained for samples A, B, C, D and E seem to correlate with laboratory leaf test data obtained for different products Ar, Br, Cr, Dr, and Er from plant operations. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the NSF Grant No. CTS-9724315 for the financial support, and CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Teenologico-of the Ministry for Science and Technology of Brazil, which has granted scholarship for one of them.

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Figure 1. (a) 3D image of sample A simulated for 10000cycles, (b) height of cake A versus surface porosity, (c) top view of sample A, (d) bottom view of sample A.

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Figure 2 (a) 3D image of sample B simulated for 10000cycles, (b) height of cake B versus surface porosity, (c) top view of sample B, (d) bottom view of sample B.

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Figure 3 (a) 3D image of sample C simulated for 10000 cycles, (b) height of cake C versus surface porosity, (c) top view of sample C, (d) bottom view of sample C.

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Figure 4 (a) 3D image of sample D simulated for 10000 cycles, (b) height of cake D versus surface porosity, (c) top view of sample D, (d) bottom view of sample D.

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Figure 5 (a) 3D image of sample E simulated for 10000 cycles, (b) height of cake E versus surface porosity, (c) top view of sample E, (d) bottom view of sample E.

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REFERENCES Bourgeois, F. S., and Lyman, G. J. 1997, Morphological Analysis and Modeling of Fine Coal Filter Cake Microstructure, Chemical Engineering Science, Vol. 52, pp. 1151-1162. Bourgeois, F. S. and Barton, W. A., 1998, Advances in the Fundamentals of Fine Coal Filtration, Coal Preparation, Vol. 19, pp. 9-31. Carman, P. C., 1937, Fluid Flow through Granular Beds, Trans. Instn Chem. Engrs, Vol. 15, pp. 32-48. Chatzis, 1, and Dullien, F. A., 1977, Modelling Pore Structure by 2D and 3D Networks with Application to Sandstones, J. Can. Pet. Technol., Vol. 16, pp.97-108. Dahlstrom, D. A. and Silverblatt, C. E., 1977, Continuous Vacuum and Pressure Filtration, In: D. B. Purchas (ed). Solid Liquid Separation and Scale Up, Up Lands Press. Croydon, pp. 445-491. Dexter, A. R., and Tanner D. W., 1972, Packing Densities of Mixtures of Spheres with Log-Normal Size Distributions, Nature Physical Science Vol. 238, pp. 31-32. Eberly, D., 1998, eberly@cs.unc.edu Magic Version 4.0, http://

Lin, C. L., 1997, Porosity Calculation of Sectioned Image of the Packed Spheres Data, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Miller, J. D. and Lin, C. L., 1996, A Capillary Network Model for Filter Cake Based on Pore Structure Analyses, Thirteenth Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Proceedings Coal-Energy and the Environment, Vol. 2, Sep. 3-7, pp. 826-833. Nolan, G. T., and Kavanagh, P. E., 1993, Computer Simulation of Random Packings of Spheres with Log-Normal Distributions, Powder Technology, Vol. 76, pp. 309-316. Orem, P., Bakke, S., Nilsen, L. S. and Henriquez, A., 1996, Prediction of Relative Permeability and Capillary Pressure from Pore-Scale Modeling, Proceedings of 5th European Conference on Mathematics of Oil Recovery, Leoben, Austria, Sept. 1996. Ouchlyama, N., and Tanaka, T., 1984, Porosity Estimation for Random Packings of Spherical Particles, Ind.Chem.Fundam, Vol. 23, pp. 490-493. Owen, L. 0. and Green, S. J., 1996, Advanced Imaging Techniques for Network Analysis of the Pore Structure of Rocks, Task Report. Terra Tek, Salt Lake City, 42 pp. Ranjan, S. and Hogg, R., 1996, The Role of Cake Structure in the Dewatering of Fine Coal by Filtration, Coal Preparation, Vol. 17, pp. 71-87, Reyes, S. C., and Iglesia, E., 1991. Monte Carlo Simulations of Structural Properties of Packed Beds, Chemical Engineering Science, Vol. 46, pp. 1089-1099. Rodriguez, J., Allibert, C. H., and Chaix, J. M., 1986, A Computer Method for Random Packing of Spheres of Unequal Size, Powder Technology, Vol. 47, pp. 25-33. Rosato, A., Prinz, F., Stanburg, K. J., and Swendsen, R., 1986, Monte Carlo Simulation of Particulate Matter Segregation, Powder Technology, Vol. 49, pp. 59-69. Saltzman, W. M., Paternak S. H., and Langer, R., 1987, Quantitative Image Analysis for Developing Microstructural Descriptions of Heterogeneous Materials, Chemical Engineering Science, Vol. 42, pp. 1989-2004. Shirato, M., 1972, Verification of Internal Flow Mechanism Theory of Cake Filtration, Filtration & Separation, pp. 290298. Soppe, W., 1990, Computer Simulation of Random Packings of Hard Spheres, Powder Technology, Vol. 62, pp. 189-196.

Hogue, C., and Newland, D., 1994, Efficient Computer Simulation of Moving Granular Particles, Powder Technolog, Vol. 78, pp. 51-56. Hwang, K. J., Wu, Y. S., and Lu, W. M., 1997, Effect of the Size Distribution of Spheroidal Particles on the Surface Structure of a Filter Cake, Powder Technology, Vol. 91, pp.105-113. Jernot, J. P., Prasad, P.B. and Demaleprade, P., 1992, Three Dimensional Simulation of Flow through a Porous Medium, Journal of Microscopy, Vol. 167, pp. 9-21. Kakwani, R. M., Chiang, S.H., and Klinzing, G.E., 1984, Effect of Filter Cake Structure on Dewatering of Fine Coal, Minerals and Metallurgical, Vol 1, pp. 113-117. Kaush, H. H., Fesko, D. G., and Tschoegl, N. W., 1971, The Random Packing of Circles in a Plane, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 37, pp. 603-611. Konakawa, Y., and Ishizaki, K., 1990, The Particle Size Distribution for the Highest Relative Density in a Compacted Body, Powder Technolog , Vol. 63, pp. 241-246.

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Svarosvsky, L., 1977, Filtration Fundamentals. Butterworths. London, 333 p. Tiller, F. M.. 1975a, Solid-Liquid Separation. University of Houston, Houston, 543 p. Tiller, F. M., 1975b, What the Filter Man Should know about the Theory, Filtration & Separation, pp. 386-394. Van Brakel, J., and Heertjes, P. M., 1974, Homogeneous Particle Packings and Porous Masses. Some Experimental Techniques, Powder Technology, Vol. 9, pp. 263-27 1. Wakeman, R. J., 1975, Packing Densities of Particles with Log-Normal Size Distribution, Powder Technology, Vol. 11, pp. 297-299. Yen, Y. K., and Lin, C. L., 1996, 3D Simulation of Particles Dropping under Gravity Force, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Yen, Y. K., Lin, C. L., and Miller, J. D., 1998, Particle Overlap and Segregation Problems in On Line Coarse Particle Size Measurement, Powder Technology, vol. 98, pp. 1- 12. Yu, A. B., and Standish, N., 1987. Porosity Calculations of Multi-Component Mixtures of Spherical Particles, Powder Technology, Vol. 52, pp. 233-241.

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