Description

Filtration is an extremely important unit operation used by industries such as chemical, food and water treatment.

UOP12 is a benchtop unit designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of solid/liquid filtration. The apparatus consists of an acrylic feed tank connecting to a progressing cavity pump which feeds a slurry to the acrylic plate and frame filter press.

A pressure sensor on the output of the pump measures the filtration pressure. The filter press consists of two end plates, two frame plates and a wash plate. The filtrate passes through an optical sensor which determines the efficiency of the filtration process.

Filtrate temperature is also measured. The second inlet to the filter is for mains water for filter cake washing. A second pressure sensor and a needle valve control the water pressure during the washing cycle. A three-way valve allows filtrate to be returned to the feed tank or to a filtrate vessel/drain.

The Armfield Filtration Unit demonstrates the principles of batch filtration using a fully functional plate and frame filter system. A continuous, tangential flow microfiltration unit using a hollow fibre filtration cartridge (a membrane technology application) is available as an option. Both types of filter are widely used in the commercial world.

The practical training exercises are appropriate to chemical and all other process related engineering courses, including technician training. An economic investigation allows the student to take experimental data and use it to help make decisions on the size and the operation of a filtration plant in order to meet economic and output targets.

BATCH FILTRATION WITH THE PLATE AND FRAME FILTER

UOP12 is a benchtop unit designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of solid/liquid filtration. The apparatus consists of an acrylic feed tank connecting to a progressing cavity pump which feeds a slurry to the acrylic plate and frame filter press.

A pressure sensor on the output of the pump measures the feed pressure. The filter press consists of two end plates, two frame plates and a wash plate. The filtrate passes through an optical sensor which determines the efficiency of the filtration process.

Filtrate temperature is also measured. The second inlet to the filter is for mains water for filter cake washing. A second pressure sensor and a needle valve control the water pressure during the washing cycle. A three-way valve allows filtrate to be returned to the feed tank or to a filtrate vessel/drain.

CONTINUOUS FILTRATION WITH THE TANGENTIAL FLOW HOLLOW FIBRE FILTER CARTRIDGE – UOP12-10

The tangential flow filter is available as an option. It is fitted in minutes simply by removing the plate and frame filter and fitting the hollow fibre cartridge and tubular heat exchanger.

The feed suspension is pumped from the feed tank through the tubular heat exchanger and then through a prefilter before passing into the hollow fibre filter cartridge. The heat exchanger uses mains water to remove heat originating from the feed pump.

Material which does not filter through the membranes of the hollow fibres, called the retentate, remains in the lumen and then exits the filter and is returned to the feed tank. Material that does pass through the membranes, the permeate, is collected in the permeate vessel.

Pressure is measured by sensors at the entrance and exit of the hollow fibre filter cartridge on the retentate side and also at the permeate exit from the cartridge. Temperature is measured on the retentate side of the filter cartridge. The optical sensor is used to measure protein concentration of the permeate stream.