S8

PLATE AND FRAME FILTER PRESS

OBJECTIVES

i) To study the operation of plate and frame filter press.

ii) To determine Specific cake resistance () and medium resistance (Rm).

THEORY

The separation of solids from a suspension in a liquid by means of porous medium or screen
which retains the solids and allow the liquid to pass is termed filtration. In general the pores of the
medium will be larger than the particles which are to be removed, and the filter will work efficiently
only after an initial deposit has been trapped in the medium.

Filtration is essentially a mechanical operation and is less demanding in energy than

evaporation or drying. The most suitable filter for any given operation is the one which will fulfill
the requirements at minimum overall cost. The most important factors in filter selection are the
specific resistance of filter cake, the quantity to be filtered and the solid concentration. A Pressure
drop has to be supplied across the medium in order to have fluid flow through the filter medium.

The prepared feed mixture is fed in the slurry tank. There is an agitator, to agitate the feed so
as to prevent the CaCO3 from settling down. The feed is lifted by the slurry pump and given to the
plate & frame filter press. The clear liquid comes out after filtering. The two gauges are provided
for pressure measuring at the inlet and outlet liquid. By pass valve is also provided for slurry.

SPECIFICATION:
No. of frame : 6
No. of Plates : 7
Size : 200 mm x 200 mm.
Material : Acrylic
Filter Medium : Filter Cloth
Filtrate collection tray : Material Stainless Steel, Suitable size.

Slurry Feed tank : Material Stainless Steel, Capacity 40 Ltrs.

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Slurry Tank Agitator : Stainless Steel Impeller with SS Shaft coupled to FHP
Crompton Make Motor and Reduction Gear Box
Slurry Feed Pump : Gear Pump with FHP Crompton Make motor.
Piping system : GI and PVC.
Filtration rate measurement : Using measuring tank. Material SS.
Pressure Measurement : Bourdon type pressure gauge.
Overhead water tank : Material Stainless Steel, Capacity 25 Ltrs.

FORMULAE
FOR INCOMPRESSIBLE CAKES:
The basic filtration equation is:
dt  *  * c  * Rm 1
 2 *v  --------- (1)
dv A * P A * P
Under constant pressure filtration condition, integration of the above equation yields

t  ts c Rm
 (V V s)  ---------- (2)
V  Vs 2 A P
2
AP
Where ts is the time taken to reach the set pressure drop. Constant pressure filtration starts at t s and
the volume of filtrate collected is Vs.
t  ts
Plot of vs ( V-Vs ) yields slope = Kc/2 and intercept = 1/qo
V  Vs

K c A 2 P 1 AP
so,   Rm 
c qo 

(t - ts) / (V - Vs)

Constant Pressure
Filteration

REQUIREMENTS V-Vs
CaCO3 Slurry, Oven, Weighing Balance.

PROCEDURE

1. Fix the canvas cloth between plates and frames on the press and tighten the filter cloth.
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2. Prepare slurry of 10 wt% CaCO3 slurry in water ( 5 kg CaCO3 and 45 lit water) .
3. See that the drain valve of feed tank is closed before slurry is fed it in the feed tank.
4. Switch on mains and start the agitator of the feed tank.
5. Connect the outlet of the filter press to the filtrate tank and keep the filtrate valve open.
6. Keep bypass valve open and feed control valve closed.
7. Fill the filtrate tank with water so that the water level seen in glass tube is ~ 5cm.
8. Start feed pump, open feed valve fully, start stop watch, collect the filtrate in the filtrate
tank, partially close bypass valve in order to control pressure to a set value (P=0.2 kg/cm2).
9. Record the Inlet slurry pressure, Pi and Outlet slurry pressure, Po. Note P = Pi-Po. Note the
time taken (ts) for the pressure drop to reach the set value (P=0.2 kg/cm2). Note the
volume of filtrate collected (Vs) in time (ts).
10. Record the height of filtrate collected ‘h’ in time t (take readings after every 15 seconds).
11. Run the filtration till there is appreciable fall in rate of filtrate collection.
12. Close agitator, feed pump, orange feed inlet valve.
13. To clean feed tank, pour water in tank, start agitator, open drain valve to drain water.
14. Clean filter cloth and plates and frames.

OBSERVATIONS

Cross sectional area of Filtrate Tank, At = 0.040 m2.

Area of one frame, AF = 0.04 m2
Number of frames NF = ………
Viscosity of water  = 0.000886 kg / m s
Density of calcium carbonate, CaCO3 = 2636.6 kg/m3
Density of water, water = 1000 kg/m3
mCaCO 3
c
Concentration of solids, m m = …… kg/m3
    
   water    CaCO 3
Total area of frames, A = 2 NF AF
h
Volume of Filtrate, V  At * , where h in cm
100

DATA ACQUISITION
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P = ………kg/cm2

Time, t (sec) Height of Filtrate in filtrate tank, h (cm)

DATA REDUCTION
P = ……..kg/cm
2
Time t (sec) Volume V V-Vs V-Vs t-ts t  ts
(s/l)
(m3) (m3) (lit) (sec) V  Vs

t  ts
Plot versus (V-Vs), draw a straight line through these points. Measure slope & intercept.
V  Vs

CALCULATIONS
m CaCO 3
mCaCO 3
Concentration of solids, c  = m water m CaCO 3 kg/m3
Vwater  VCaCO 3 
 water  CaO 3
Total area of frames, A = 2 NF AF
m kg
P = ……..kg/cm2 =----------kg/m2 =---------x 9.8 2 = ----------
s ms 2
Calculate the specific cake resistance () and medium resistance Rm
Plot of t-ts / V-Vs vs V-Vs yields slope = Kc/2 and intercept = 1/qo

1 s s s
 ...........  ............ 3 Slope =…… ……
q0 l m m6
K c A 2 P 1 AP
 Rm 
 *c qo 

EXPECTED RESULTS
t  ts
1. Plot versus V-Vs
V  Vs

2. Calculate cake resistance ‘ ‘. And filter medium resistance ‘Rm’.

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NOMENCLATURE

NF = number of frame.
AF = area of one frame, m2
Pi = pressure at inlet. Kg/cm2
Po = pressure at outlet. Kg/cm2
 = Specific Cake Resistance (m/kg)
Rm = Medium Resistance (m-1)
At = area of filtrate tank, m2
A = Total Filtration Area, m²
P = Driving Force N/m²
 = Viscosity of the filtrate NS/m²
c = Concentration of the slurry kg/m3
V = Volume of filtrate collected in time t (sec.)
t = Time, sec.
ts = Time when actual constant pressure filtration starts
Vs = Volume of filtrate collected in time ts (sec.)

PRECAUTIONS & MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Proper cleaning of plates and frames and its clothes is must.

2. Feed slurry is filtered before feeding it into the tank.
3. Plates & frames are properly tight.

TROUBLESHOOTING

1. If the slurry is leaking more than enough detach it and arrange it properly and tight it again.
2. If the slurry is not coming properly, check the holes of the clothes and frames.

REFERENCE

1. “Hand book of mineral” dressing by ‘A. F. Taggart’, ‘John Wiley & Sons’ NY (1954).
2. “Chemical Engineering” by ‘J M Coulson & J F Richardson’ 4th ed.