FILTRATION PROCESS

USED IN
FERMENTATION INDUSTRIES
 FILTRATION: INTRODUCTION
• Filtration is a mechanical or physical operation by
which solid particles are separated from a fluid-solid
mixture by forcing the fluid through a filter medium
or filter cloth.
• It is one of the most common processes used at all
scales of operation to separate suspended particles
from a liquid or gas through a porous substance
called “filter”.
• Example(s):Fine particles, Microbes, Polymer
molecules, Mist, Aerosol, etc.
 FILTRATIONS DEPENDS UPON:
• Viscosity and density of the fluid: Viscosity describes
a fluid's internal resistance to flow and may be thought
of as a measure of fluid friction. Unit: Pa-s (N·m−2·s)
• The nature of the solid particles, particularly their
size and shape distribution
• Aseptic conditions: Aseptic conditions is essential to
avoid undue contamination and degradation of labile
(becoming inactive when subjected to heat or radiation)
products.
 CAKE FILTRATION
•A filter cake is formed by the

substances that are retained on a

filter. The filter cake grows in the

course of filtration, becomes

"thicker" as particulate matter is

being retained.

•Due to the deposition of solids, the

thickness of filter cake is increased

and so it make a constraint to further

filtration. Diagram of a simple filtration apparatus

• When filter cake is deposited heavily, it is
removed from the filter by back flushing.

• This is essential to avoid disruption because

when the flow resistance of the filter cake gets
too high, then too little of the mixture is
filtered through the filter cake and the filter
plugs.
• The rate of flow of filtration process is given by
the following equation:

Where,
µ= liquid viscosity
L= depth of filter bed
P= pressure differential across the
filter bed
A= area of filter exposed to the liquid
K= constant of the system
 FILTER AID
• “Filter Aids” is a group of inert materials that
can be used in filtration pretreatment.
• Filter aids are used when filtering bacteria or
other fine or gelatinous substances which
prove slow to filter or particularly block a
filter.
• Filter aids such as diatomaceous earth have
found widespread use in the fermentation
industry to improve the efficiency of filtration.
 OBJECTIVES OF ATTACHING FILTER
AID
• To form a layer of second medium which protects
the basic medium of the system. This is
commonly referred to as “precoat”.

• To improve the flow rate by decreasing cake

compressibility and increasing cake
permeability. This type of usage is termed as
“admix” or "body feed".
(a)Filter without filter aid; (b) Filtration with “Precoat” and (c) Filter with
“admix” or "body feed".
 COMMON EXAMPLES OF FILTER AID
• Diatomaceous earth (DE), •Perlite is another important
also known as kieselguhr, is mineral filter aid. It is a
the fused skeletal remains of particular variety of naturally
diatoms, composed primarily occurring glassy volcanic
of silica.
rock, characterized by onion
• It is widely used as to
like, splintery breakage
improve the efficiency of
filtration.
planes.
 FACTORS OF FILTRATION
• Filtration efficiency: Filtration efficiency is the ratio of the
upstream suspended solids concentration compared to the
downstream suspended solid concentration which has passed
through the filter.
• Flow rate: The flow rate is the volume or weight of the fluid
which has passed through the filter at the unit area at the unit
time.
• Filtration life: The life of the filter is the time it takes until
the filter becomes clogged with particles and other suspended
matter so that it can no longer function at a certain flow
volume.
 FILTER MEDIA
There are three main types of filter media
employed in the filtration process:

• Surface filtration: This filtration mechanism

mainly retains particulate matter from the fluid
on the surface of the filter.
• Depth filtration: This filtration mechanism
retains particulate matter not only on the
surface of the filter but also at the inside of the
filter.
• Cake filtration: By this filtration mechanism,
the cake accumulated on the surface of the
filter is itself used as a filter.
FILTERS USED IN FERMENTATION
PROCESS
BATCH FILTER
• Plate and Frame Filters: A
plate and frame filter is a
pressure filter in which plates
and frames are arranged
alternately. The plates are
covered with filter cloths or
filter pads. The plates and
frames are assembled on a
horizontal framework and held
together by means of a hand
screw or hydraulic ram so that
there is no leakage between the
plates and frames which form a
series of liquid-tight Assembly of plate and frame filter
compartments.
• Plate filters are suitable for filtration of small
fermentation batches; this type of filter
gradually accumulates biomass and must be
periodically opened and cleared of filter cake.
DISADVANTAGE
• Because of high labor costs and the time
involved in dismantling, cleaning and
reassembly, these filters should not be used
when removing large quantities of worthless
solids from a broth.
 CONTINUOUS FILTER

Rotary Vacuum Precoat Filters: Rotary

Vacuum Precoat Filters are typically used for
thick, difficult to filter liquids or when the
solids content is high.

It is the most widely-used filtration devices in

the fermentation industry because of large
volumes of liquid need continuous processing.
Rotary Vacuum Precoat Filters