FLOW PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS

Masses of solid particles, especially when the particles are dry and not sticky, have many of
the properties of a fluid. For instance, they exert pressure on the sides and walls of a
container and flow through openings or down a chute. Solid masses have the following
distinctive properties:

1. The pressure is not the same in all directions. The pressure applied in one direction
creates some pressure in other directions, but it is always smaller than the applied
pressure. It is a minimum in the direction at right angles to the applied pressure.

2. A shear stress applied at the surface of a mass is transmitted throughout a static mass of
particles unless failure occurs.

3. The density of the mass may vary, depending on the degree of packing of the grains. The
density of a fluid is a unique function of temperature and pressure, as is that of each
individual solid particle; but the bulk density of the mass is not. The bulk density is a
minimum when the mass is "loose"; it rises to a maximum when the mass is packed by
vibrating or tamping.

4. Before a mass of tightly packed particles can flow, it must increase in volume to permit
interlocking grains to move past one another. Without such dilation flow is not possible.

Depending on their flow properties, particulate solids are divided into two classes;

 Cohesive
 Non-cohesive

Non-cohesive materials like grain, dry sand, and plastic chips readily flow out of a bin or
silo. Cohesive solids, such as wet clay, are characterized by their reluctance to flow through
openings.

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Pressures in masses of particles.

The minimum pressure in a solid mass is in the direction normal to that of the applied
pressure. In a homogeneous mass the ratio of the normal pressure to the applied pressure
is a constant K', which is characteristic of the material. It depends on the following factors;

i) the shape and interlocking tendencies of the particles

ii) the stickiness of the grain surfaces
iii) the degree of packing of the material.

If the applied pressure is Pv and the normal pressure is PL, the pressure p at any
intermediate angle can be found.

Figure 1: Stresses and forces in granular solids: (a) stresses; (b) forces.

A right-angled triangular differential section of thickness b and hypotenuse dL is shown in

Fig. 1a.

Pressure PV acts on the base, PL on the side, and p on the hypotenuse. The angle between
base and hypotenuse is θ. At equilibrium the unequal pressures Pv and PL cannot be
balanced by a single pressure p; there must also be a shear stress τ.

The forces resulting from these stresses are shown in Fig. 1b.

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Equating the components of force at right angles to the hypotenuse gives;

Dividing by bdL and noting that sin2θ = 1 - cos2θ gives the following equation;

Similarly equating forces parallel to the hypotenuse gives;

When θ= 0, P = PV; when θ = 90°, P = PL· In both these cases, shear stress, τ = 0. When

θ has an intermediate value, there is a shear stress at right angles to P.

STORAGE OF SOLIDS

Bulk storage

Coarse solids like gravel and coal are stored outside in large piles, unprotected from the
weather. When hundreds or thousands of tons of material are involved, this is the most
economical method. The solids are removed from the pile by dragline or tractor shovel and
delivered to a conveyor or to the process. Outdoor storage can lead to environmental
problems such as dusting or leaching of soluble material from the pile. Dusting may
necessitate a protective cover of some kind for the stored solid; leaching can be controlled
by covering the pile or by locating it in a shallow basin with an impervious floor from
which the runoff may be safely withdrawn.

Bin storage

Solids that are too valuable or too soluble to expose in outdoor piles are stored in bins,
hoppers, or silos. These are cylindrical or rectangular vessels of concrete or metal. A silo is
tall and relatively small in diameter; a bin is not so tall and usually fairly wide. A hopper is a
small vessel with a sloping bottom, for temporary storage before feeding solids to a

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process. All these containers are loaded from the top by some kind of elevator; discharging
is ordinarily from the bottom.

When granular solids are placed in a bin or silo, the lateral pressure exerted on the walls at
any point is less than predicted from the head of material above that point. Furthermore
there usually is friction between the wall and the solid grains, and because of the
interlocking of the particles, the effect of this friction is felt throughout the mass. The
frictional force at the wall tends to offset the weight of the solid and reduces the pressure
exerted by the mass on the floor of the container. The vertical pressure on the vessel floor
or the packing support is much smaller than that exerted by a column of liquid of the same
density and height.

The actual pressure from the solids depends on;

i) the value of K for the solids

ii) the coefficient of friction between the solids and the vessel wall
iii) the way the solids are placed in the vessel.

When the height of the solids column is greater than about three times the diameter of the
container, additional solids have no effect on the pressure at the base. The total mass,
increases if more solids are added, but the additional mass is carried by the walls and
foundation, not by the floor of the vessel.

In granular solids a high pressure does not always increase the tendency of the material to
flow, as it does in a liquid; instead, increased pressure often packs the grains more tightly
together and makes flow more difficult. In extreme cases the combination of gravitational
and frictional forces at some point in the container causes the solids to arch or bridge, so
that they do not fall even when the material below them is removed. Nearly all large bins
contain an archbreaker, an upward-pointing shallow metal cone set near the bottom to
keep the solids at the discharge opening from becoming tightly packed. Granular solids,
especially with angular particles, must be loose in order to flow.

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Flow out of bins.

Solids tend to flow out of any opening near the bottom of a bin but are best discharged
through an opening in the floor. Flow through a side opening tends to be uncertain and
increases the lateral pressure on the other side of the bin while the solids are flowing. A
bottom outlet is less likely to clog and does not induce abnormally high pressures on the
wall at any point.

Except in very small bins it is not feasible to open the entire bottom for discharge.
Commonly a conical or pyramidal hopper like section is set at the bottom of the bin, leading
to a fairly small outlet that can be closed with a valve.

When the outlet at the bottom of a bin containing free-flowing solids is opened, the
material immediately above the opening begins to flow. One of two flow patterns will
develop, depending on the steepness of the walls in the bottom section of the bin and on
the coefficient of friction between the solids and the bin walls. Mass flow occurs in cone-
bottomed bins with a tall, steep cone; all the material moves downward uniformly from the
top of the bin.

Tunnel flow develops in bins with a shallow cone angle or with vertical walls and a central
opening in the floor. Here a vertical column of solids above the opening moves downward
without disturbing the material at the sides. Eventually lateral flow begins, first from the
topmost layer of solids. A conical depression is formed in the surface of the mass.

The solids at the bin floor, at or near the walls, are the last to leave. The material slides
laterally into the central column at an angle approximating the angle of internal friction of
the solids. If additional material is added at the top of the bin at the same rate as material is
flowing out the bottom, the solids near the bin walls remain stagnant and do not discharge
no matter how long flow persists.

During flow, the pressure in the solids increases from zero (atmospheric) at the top surface
to a maximum at the top of the hopper section, then drops to zero at the discharge. Arching
is especially likely to occur in the hopper section.

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The rate of flow of granular solids by gravity through a circular opening in the bottom of a
bin depends on the diameter of the opening and on the properties of the solid.

With cohesive solids it is often hard to start flow. Once flow does start, however, it again
begins in the material directly above the discharge opening.

Frequently the column of solids above the outlet moves out as a plug, leaving a "rathole"
with nearly vertical sides. Sticky solids and even some dry powders adhere strongly to
vertical surfaces and have enough shear strength to support a plug of considerable
diameter above an open discharge. Thus to get flow started and to keep the material
moving, vibrators on the bin walls, internal plows near the bin floor, or jets of air in the
discharge opening are often needed.

The discharge opening should be small enough to be readily closed when solids are flowing
yet not so small that it will clog. It is best to make the opening large enough to pass the full
desired flow when half open. It can then be opened further to clear a partial choke. If the
opening is too large, however, the shutoff valve may be hard to close and control of the flow
rate will be poor.

Self-standing hopper

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SEPERATION OF SUSPENDED SOLID PARTICLES FROM LIQUIDS

Solids are removed from fluids in order to purify the fluid although, in some cases, it is the
solid material that is the desired product. Where solids are to be removed from liquids, a
variety of operations are available including:

a) Filtration, in which the solids are collected on a medium, such as a porous material
or a layer of fine particles, through which the liquid is pumped.
b) Sedimentation, in which the solids are allowed to settle by gravity through the liquid
from which they are removed.
c) Centrifugal separation in which the solids are forced on to the walls of a vessel
which is rotated to provide the centrifugal force.

LIQUID FILTRATION

This is the separation of solids from a suspension in a liquid by means of a porous medium
or screen which retains the solids and allows the liquid to pass.

The pores of the medium are larger than the particles which are to be removed, and the
filter works efficiently only after an initial deposit has been trapped in the medium.

A filtration process is illustrated in Figure 1. It shows the filter medium, in this case a cloth,
its support and the layer of solids, or filter cake, which has already formed.

The cake gradually builds up on the medium and the resistance to flow progressively
increases. During the initial period of flow, particles are deposited in the surface layers of
the cloth to form the true filtering medium. This initial deposit may be formed from a
special initial flow of precoat material.

Factors affecting the rate of filtration are as follows:

(a) The drop in pressure from the feed to the far side of the filter medium.

(b) The area of the filtering surface.

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(c) The viscosity of the filtrate.

(d) The resistance of the filter cake.

(e) The resistance of the filter medium and initial layers of cake.

Figure 1: Filtration process

Volumes of the suspensions to be handled vary from the extremely large quantities
involved in water purification and ore handling in the mining industry to relatively small
quantities, as in the fine chemical industry where the variety of solids is considerable. In
most industrial applications it is the solids that are required and their physical size and
properties are of paramount importance.

The main factors to be considered when selecting equipment and operating conditions are
as follows:

(a) The properties of the fluid, particularly its viscosity, density and corrosive properties.

(b) The nature of the solid—its particle size and shape, size distribution, and packing
characteristics.

(c) The concentration of solids in suspension.

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(d) The quantity of material to be handled, and its value.

(e) Whether the valuable product is the solid, the fluid, or both.

(f) Whether it is necessary to wash the filtered solids.

(g) Whether very slight contamination caused by contact of the suspension or filtrate with
the various components of the equipment is detrimental to the product.

(h) Whether the feed liquor may be heated.

(i) Whether any form of pretreatment might be helpful.

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

evaporation or drying where the high latent heat of the liquid, which is usually water, has
to be provided.

There are two main types of filtration processes;

i) Cake filtration
ii) Deep bed filtration

Cake filtration

In cake filtration, the particles from the suspension, which usually has a high proportion of
solids, are deposited on the surface of a porous septum which should ideally offer only a
small resistance to flow. As the solids build up on the septum, the initial layers form the
effective filter medium, preventing the particles from embedding themselves in the filter
cloth, and ensuring that a particle-free filtrate is obtained.

Deep bed filtration

The particles penetrate into the pores of the filter medium, where impacts between the
particles and the surface of the medium are largely responsible for their removal and
retention. This configuration is commonly used for the removal of fine particles from very
dilute suspensions, where the recovery of the particles is not of primary importance.

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PRINCIPLES OF FILTRATION

The flowrate of the filtrate is given by the following equation:

eqn 1

Where,

V = volume of filtrate which has passed in time t

A = total cross-sectional area of the filter cake

uc = superficial velocity of the filtrate

l = cake thickness,

S = specific surface of the particles

e = the voidage

μ = viscosity of the filtrate

ΔP = the applied pressure difference.

In deriving this equation it is assumed that the cake is uniform and that the voidage is
constant throughout. In the deposition of a filter cake this is unlikely to be the case and the
voidage, e will depend on the nature of the support, including its geometry and surface
structure, and on the rate of deposition. The initial stages in the formation of the cake are
therefore of special importance for the following reasons:

(a) For any filtration pressure, the rate of flow is greatest at the beginning of the process
since the resistance is then a minimum.

(b) High initial rates of filtration may result in plugging of the pores of the filter cloth and
cause a very high resistance to flow.

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(c) The orientation of the particle in the initial layers may appreciably influence the
structure of the whole filter cake.

Filter cakes may be divided into two classes

 incompressible cakes
 compressible cakes.

For an incompressible cake, the resistance to flow of a given volume of cake is not
appreciably affected either by the pressure difference across the cake or by the rate of
deposition of material. On the other hand, with a compressible cake, increase of the
pressure difference or of the rate of flow causes the formation of a denser cake with a
higher resistance.

For incompressible cakes e in equation 1 may be taken as constant and the quantity
e3/[5(1 − e)2S2] is then a property of the particles forming the cake and should be constant
for a given material.

Therefore;

eqn 2 (termed basic filtration equation)

Where,

eqn 3

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If v is the volume of cake deposited by unit volume of filtrate then:

eqn 4

Substituting into the basic filtration eqn 2, then,

Or

eqn 5

Filtration processes may be carried out either at constant rate or at constant pressure

1. constant rate filtration

This is the kind of filtration carried out such that the rate of collection of the filtrate is kept
constant. Thus;

eqn 6

Comparing with eqn 5,

eqn 7

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Rearranging yields;

eqn 8

2. constant pressure filtration

Pressure is kept constant during the process and therefore the rate of filtration changes.

The basic filtration equation is intergrated to yield;

eqn 9

Or

eqn 10

Thus for a constant pressure filtration, there is a linear relation between V 2 and t or
between t/V and V .

Filtration at constant pressure is more frequently adopted in practice, although the

pressure difference is normally gradually built up to its ultimate value.

If this takes a time t1 during which a volume V1 of filtrate passes, then integration of

equation 1 by intergration gives:

eqn 11

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Rearranging yields

eqn 12

Thus, there where is a linear relation between V2 and t and between (t − t1)/(V − V1) and
(V − V1), where (t − t1) represents the time of the constant pressure filtration and (V − V1)
the corresponding volume of filtrate obtained.

Flow of filtrate through the cloth and cake combined

If the filter cloth and the initial layers of cake are together equivalent to a thickness L of the

cake as deposited at a later stage in the process, then:

eqn 13

Comparing to eqn 1, yields;

eqn 14

This equation may be integrated between the limits t = 0, V = 0 and t = t1, V = V1 for
constant rate filtration, and t = t1, V = V1 and t = t , V = V for a subsequent constant
pressure filtration.

For constant rate filtration;

eqn 15

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Simplifying

eqn 16

Or

eqn 17

For constant pressure;

eqn 18

or

eqn 19

Simplifying;

eqn 20

Thus there is a linear relation between (t − t 1)/(V − V1) and V − V1, as shown in Figure 2,
and the slope is proportional to the specific resistance, as in the case of the flow of the
filtrate through the filter cake alone although the line does not now go through the origin.

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Figure 2: filtration curve

The intercept on the (t − t1)/(V − V1) axis should enable L, the equivalent thickness of the
cloth, to be calculated although reproducible results are not obtained because this
resistance is critically dependent on the exact manner in which the operation is
commenced. The time at which measurement of V and t is commenced does not affect the
slope of the curve, only the intercept. It may be noted that a linear relation between t and
V2 is no longer obtained when the cloth resistance is appreciable.

Example 1

A plate and frame press gave a total of 8 m 3 of filtrate in 1800 s and 11.3 m3 in 3600 s when
filtration was stopped. Determine the rate of filtration. The resistance of the cloth may be
neglected and a constant pressure is used throughout.

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Solution

For constant rate filtration:

Example 2

In the filtration of a sludge, the initial period is effected at a constant rate with the feed
pump at full capacity, until the pressure differences reaches 400 kN/m 2. The pressure is
then maintained at this value for a remainder of the filtration. The constant rate operation
requires 900 s and one-third of the total filtrate is obtained during this period. Neglecting
the resistance of the filter medium, determine the total filtration time.

Solution

For a filtration carried out at a constant filtration rate for time t1 in which time a volume
V1 is collected and followed by a constant pressure period such that the total filtration time
is t and the total volume of filtrate is V , then:

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