Plate and Frame

Filter Press
A filter press is a tool used in separation processes,
specifically in solid/liquid separation using the principle of
pressure drive, provided by a slurry pump. The filter press
is used in fixed-volume and batch operations, which
means that the operation must be stopped to discharge
the filter cake before the next batch can be started.[1] The
major components of a filter press are the skeleton and
the filter pack. The skeleton holds the filter pack together
while pressure is being developed inside
the filtration chamber. The chamber however can only

hold a specific volume of solids.

Concept behind filter press technology:

Generally, the slurry needed to be dewatered is injected into the center of
the press and each chamber filled.[2] The filling time should be as quick
as possible in order to avoid cake formation in the first chamber before
the last chamber is filled. While the chambers are being filled up, the
pressure inside the system will increase due to the formation of thick
sludge.[3] Then, the liquid is filtered out through the filter cloths by
adding streams of compressed air or water. The use of pressurized water
require more time to pass into the chamber compared to pressurized air,
however this method is much more cost efficient.

Types of filter presses:

There are three main basic types of filter presses: plate and frame filter
presses, recessed plate and frame filter presses and automatic filter
presses.

Plate and frame filter press:

A plate and frame filter press is the most fundamental design, and many
now refer it as a "membrane filter plate". This type of filter press
consists of many plates and frames assembled alternately with the
supports of a pair of rails. The presence of a centrifuge pump ensures the
remaining suspended solids do not settle in the system, and its main
function is to deliver the suspension into each of the separating
chambers in the plate and frame filter. For each of the individual
separating chambers, there is one hollow filter frame separated from two
filter plates by filter cloths. The introduced slurry flows through a port in
each individual frame, and the filter cakes are accumulated in each
hollow frame. As the filter cake becomes thicker, the filter resistance
increases as well. So when the separating chamber is full, the filtration
process is stopped as the optimum pressure difference is reached.
The filtrate that passes through filter cloth is collected through collection
pipes and stored in the filter tank. Filter cake (suspended solid)
accumulation occurs at the hollow plate frame, then being separated at
the filter plates by pulling the plate and frame filter press apart. The
cakes then fall off from those plates and are discharged to the final
collection point.[5]Cake discharge can be done in many ways. For
example: Shaking the plates while they are being opened or shaking the
cloths. A scraper can also be used, by moving from one chamber to
another and scraping the cake off the cloth. At the end of each run, the

cloths are cleaned using wash liquid and are ready to start the next cycle.
[6]

Automatic filter press:

An automatic filter press has the same concept as the manual filter and
frame filter, except that the whole process is fully automated. It consists
of larger plate and frame filter presses with mechanical "plate shifters".
[4]
The function of the plate shifter is to move the plates and allow rapid
discharge of the filter cakes accumulated in between the plates. It also
contains a diaphragm compressor in the filter plates which aids in
optimizing the operating condition by further drying the filter cakes.[4]

Recessed plate filter press:

A recessed plate filter press is made up of polypropylene squares at
about 2 to 4 feet across with a concave depression and a hole in the
center of each.[7] Two plates join together to form a chamber to
pressurize the slurry and squeeze the filtrate out through the filter cloth
lining in the chamber.[7] It is capable of holding 12 to 80 plates adjacent
to each other, depending on the required capacity. When the filter press
is closed, a series of chambers is formed. The differences with the plate
and frame filter are that the plates are joined together in such a way that
the cake forms in the recess on each plate, meaning that the cake

thickness is restricted to 32mm unless extra frames are used as spacers.

[8]
However there are disadvantages to this method, such as longer cloth
changing time, inability to accommodate filter papers, and the possibility
of forming uneven cake.[8]

Applications:
Filter presses are used in a huge variety of different applications,
from dewatering of mineral mining slurries to blood plasma purification.
[6]
At the same time, filter press technology is widely established for
ultrafine coal dewatering as well as filtrate recovery in coal preparation
plants.

Main process characteristics:

Table 1 Classification of filter press.[11]

Specifications

Parameters

Scale

1-100

Operation

Batch, Continuous

Objectives

Clarification, Solids Recovery

Units

m3/h

Slurry settling characteristics

Rate

<0.1 to >5

Clarification

Poor

Proportion of sludge

< 2% vol to > 20% vol

cm/s

Specifications

Slurry filtering characteristics

Parameters

Units

Slow at the rate of cm/h, up to 10 h

Feed:
Typical range of particle size and feed concentration are 1-100 m and
1-30% by weight.[8] The slurry feed concentration generally has large
amount of ultrafine particles. The percentage of solids concentration in
the slurry feed is normally more than 10% by weight.[9]

Operation:
Limitation in pressure resistance of the filter cake is up to a
maximum of 800 kPa.[8] Flow rate of filtrate is controlled by feed pump.
In filter press methodology, positive pressure filtration is used instead of
vacuum filtration with high-energy consumption.[5][12]

Efficiency:
Plate and frame filter press produce up to 99% of solids recovery, and
the moisture left in the cake commonly ranges from 15% to 20%.
[9]
During cake washing, 90% of the filtrate can be removed by the wash
liquid.[13]

Assessment of important characteristics

Here are some typical filter press calculation used for handling operation
applied in waste water treatment:
Solids loading rate

S=(B x 8.34 lb/gal x s)A

Where,

S is the solid loadings rate in lbhft2.

B is biosolids in galh
s is the % solids/ 100.
A is the plate area in ft2.
Net filter yield

Where:

NFY is the net filter yield in kg/h/m2.

S is the solids loadings rate in kg/h/m2.

P is the period in h.

TCT is the total cycle time in h.

(S P) gives the filter run time.[14]

Flow rate of filtrate

Where:

u is flow rate of filtrate through cloth and cake (m/s),

dV/dt is volumetric filtration rate (m3/s),

Rc is the resistance of the filter cake (m-1),

Rf is the initial resistance of the filter (resistance of an initial layer

of cake, filter cloths, plate and channel) (m-1),
is the viscosity of the filtrate (Ns/m2),

P is the applied pressure difference (N/m2) one side to another

side of the filter medium,
A is the filtration area (m2).

Those are the most important factors that affect the rate of filtration.
When filtrate pass through the filter plate, deposition of solids are
formed and increases the cake thickness, which also increase Rc while
Rf is assumed to be constant.[15] The flow resistance from cake and filter
medium can be studied by calculating the flow rate of filtration through
them.
If the flow rate is constant, the relationship between pressure and time
can be obtained. The filtration must be operated by increasing pressure
difference to cope with the increase in flow resistance resulting from
pore clogging.[15] The filtration rate is mainly affected by viscosity of the
filtrate as well as resistance of the filter plate and cake.

Optimum time cycle:

High filtration rate can be obtained from producing thin cake. However,
a conventional filter press is a batch system and the process must be
stopped to discharge the filter cake and reassemble the press, which is
time consuming. Practically, maximum filtration rate is obtained when
the filtration time is greater than the time taken to discharge the cake and
reassemble the press to allow for cloth's resistance.[15] Properties of the
filter cake affect the filtration rate, and it is desirable for the particle's
size to be as large as possible to prevent pore blockage by using
a coagulant. From experimental work, flow rate of liquid through the
filter medium is proportional to the pressure difference.[13] As the cake
layer forms, pressure applies to the system increases and the flow rate of
filtrate decreases.[8] If the solid is desired, the purity of the solid can be
increased by cake washing and air drying.[11] Sample of filter cake can be
taken from different locations and weighed to determine the moisture
content by using overall material balance.[9]

Possible heuristics to be used during design

of the process:
The selecting of filter press type depends on the value of liquid phase or
the solid phase. If extracting liquid phase is desired, then filter press is
among the most appropriate methods to be used.[16]

Materials:
Nowadays, filter plates are made from polymers or steel coated with
polymer. They give good drainage surface for filter cloths. The plate
sizes are ranged from 10 by 10 cm to 2.4 by 2.4 m and 0.3 to 20 cm for
the frame thickness.[11]

Filter medium:
Typical cloth areas can range from 1 m2 or less on laboratory scale to
1000 m2 in a production environment, even though plates can provide
filter areas up to 2000 m2. Normally, plate and frame filter press can
form up to 50 mm of cake thickness, however, it can be push up to
200 mm for extreme cases. Recessed plate press can form up to 32 mm
of cake thickness.[8]

Operating condition:
The operating pressure is commonly up to 7 bars for metal.[11] The
improvement of the technology makes it possible to remove large
amount of moisture at 16 bar of pressure and operate at 30 bars.
[6]
However, the pressure is 4-5 bars for wood or plastic frames.

Washing:
There are two possible methods of washing that are being employed, the
"simple washing" and the "thorough washing". For simple washing, the

wash liquor flows through the same channel as the slurry with high
velocity, causing erosion of the cakes near the point of entry. Thus the
channels formed are constantly enlarged and therefore uneven cleaning
is normally obtained. A better technique is by thorough washing in
which the wash liquor is introduced through a different channel behind
the filter cloth called washing plates. It flows through the whole
thickness of the cakes in opposite direction first and then with the same
direction as the filtrate. The wash liquor is normally discharged through
the same channel as the filtrate. After washing, the cakes can be easily
removed by supplying compressed air to remove the excess liquid.[11]

Waste:
Nowadays filter presses are widely used in many industries, they would
also produce different types of wastes. Harmful wastes such as toxic
chemical from dye industries, as well as pathogen from waste stream
might accumulate in the waste cakes; hence the requirement for treating
those wastes would be different. Therefore before discharge waste
stream into the environment, application of post-treatment would be an
important disinfection stage. It is to prevent health risks to the local
population and the workers that are dealing with the waste (filter cakes)
as well as preventing negative impacts to our ecosystem. Since filter
press would produce large amount of waste, if it was to be disposed by
land reclamation, it is recommended to dispose to the areas that are
drastically altered like mining areas where development and fixation of
vegetation are not possible. Another method is by incineration, which
would destroy the organic pollutants and decrease the mass of the waste.
It is usually done in a closed device by using a controlled flame.[5]

Advantages and disadvantages compared to

other competitive methods:
Many debates have been discussed about whether or not filter presses
are sufficient to compete with modern equipment currently as well as in
the future, since filter presses were among one of the oldest machinedriven dewatering devices. Efficiency improvements are possible in

many applications where modern filter presses have the best

characteristics for the job, however, despite the fact that many
mechanical improvements have been made, filter presses still remain to
operate on the same concept as when first invented. A lack of progress in
efficiency improvement as well as a lack of research on conquering
associated issues surrounding filter presses have suggested a possibility
of performance inadequacy. At the same time, many other types of filter
could do the same or better job as press filters. In certain cases, it is
crucial to compare characteristics and performances.[17]