Department of Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology

BBL 731: Bioseparation Engineering

Answers to some homework # 1

August 29, 2017
M.M: 20

1. (a) Give two good reasons for the usage of filter aid in filtration also write two main
disadvantages of filter aid. (1)
(b) Rotary vacuum filter (whose area is 18.5 m2) is used to filter 5% citric acid. Assume
filter medium resistance is negligible, the filter cycle time is 75s and pressure difference
is 100kPa. The cake which forms has a washing efficiency of 75% and is incompressible
and permeable such that 0/2 (p) = 85 cm2. The cake retains 10% of filtrate leaving
and should be washed until the cake contains 5% citric acid originally entrained.
Calculate the filtration time and washing time required for the processing of 3500 liter/hr
beer. (5)
(c) A rotary filter is used to filter out 1% (w/v) microbial cells from a fermented broth in
an Industry. The broth is to be processed at the rate of 50m 3/h. The rotary filter is rotated
at 0.5 rpm and one third of the rotary drum is submerged in the feed tank. The specific
cake resistance of the microbial cake is determined to be 2.5 x 10 12 m/kg. The pressure
drop used for the filtration is 10 psi.
(i) What is the filtration time? Answer: 40s (1)
(ii) What is the filtration volume collection per cycle? Answer: 1.667 m3 (1)
2
(iii) What is the area of filtration to carry out the filtration? Answer:112.4m (2)
Assume that filter cake is incompressible & properties of the filtrate are similar to that of
water.

2. (a) Why Stokes law is normally valid for biological material centrifugation. (1)
(b) A bench top centrifuge is designed to pellet material rapidly from a small amount of
sample. The unit holds six micro test tubes, each 0.8 cm in diameter and 3.0 cm in height.
The test tubes are held at a 450 angle to the axis of rotation and spun at 95, 000 rpm. The
top of the centrifuge tube is 3.7 cm from the axis of rotation. How long will it take to
clarify an aqueous solution containing protein aggregates of 0.2 m diameter and of a
density difference 0.002g/cm3? Answer: ~10 min (5)
(c) Chlorella cells are being cultivated in an open pond, which are to be harvested via
disc bowl centrifuge. The settling velocity vg of these cells were measured to be 2.25 x
10-6 m/s. The centrifuge has 32 discs with an angle of 45 o, an outer radius of 25 cm & an
inner radius of 5cm. The centrifuge can rotate at the maximum speed of 12,000 rpm.
Estimate the volumetric capacity Q in liters per hour for this centrifuge. Write down all
the possible reasons for overestimation of Q value. Answer: 0.376 m3/s (4)

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