CHE151-1L Chemical Engineering Laboratory 2

1st Quarter SY 2017-2018

Cooling Tower

Lacson, Arvic T.

Student, CHE151-1L/A11, School of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Mapúa University

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION slurry tank was emptied. The total volume of
filtrate collected was 115 L and it took 409.91
Filtration is known to be the process in seconds or approximately 7 minutes to empty
which solid particles in a liquid or a gaseous the tank.
fluid are removed using a filter medium that
permits the fluid to pass through but not the Table 1. Time recorded for every 5 liters of
solid particles. The desired product in this filtrate
process can either be the solid particles Volume (L) t t/V
removed or the clarified fluid. In some chemical 5 13.17 2.63
processes for production of chemicals, both the 10 26.11 2.61
solid particles and the clarified fluid are 15 42.00 2.80
recovered [1]. 20 55.85 2.79
25 74.36 2.97
In this experiment, a plate-and-frame 30 93.16 3.11
filter press is used to recover the solid particles 35 109.61 3.13
of magnesium carbonate from the slurry. The 40 130.16 3.25
plate-and-frame utilizes cloths with different 45 147.66 3.28
mesh size to effectively separate the solid 50 165.98 3.32
particles from the magnesium carbonate slurry. 55 187.81 3.41
In this experiment, the magnesium carbonate 60 205.55 3.43
(MgCO3) slurry was filtered using a plate-and- 65 221.46 3.41
frame filter press under constant-pressure. The 70 243.45 3.48
obtained data for the experiment is insufficient 75 256.45 3.42
because some parameters that are needed 80 275.02 3.44
can’t be computed. For the sake of explanation Source: CHE151-1L 1Q S.Y. 2016-2017
of what the date should have been, data from
the previous works of the former students were Take note that the data in Table 1 is
used. limited to a volume of 80 liters because this was
the result that obtained in the actual
Table 1 shows the time recorded in experiment. This points are depicted in Figure 1
collecting every 5 liters of the filtrate until the where the trend of the data points is easily seen
and observed.
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 CHE151-1L Chemical Engineering Laboratory 2
1st Quarter SY 2017-2018

4.00 Filter Medium 369162110

3.50 Resistance, Rm
3.00 (1/m3)
2.50 y = 0.012x + 2.6448 Specific cake 301900
T/V (S/L)

R² = 0.8945
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
0 20 40 60 80
VOLUME
Figure 1. Plot of filtrate volume (V) versus
reciprocal of filtrate rate (t/V)
It can be seen from the figure above that
the plot has a positive slope which indicates
that the rate of filtration process decreases
steadily with increasing volume of filtrate
collected which signifies near process
completion. This observation also follows the
basic theory of filtration wherein the filter cake
build up in the filter medium will hinder the
passage of the filtrate which will result to the
decrease of flow rate of the filtrate collection
[2]. Also, a linear relationship with the R2 of
0.8945 is observed. This indicates the goodness
of fit of the model.
resistance, α (m/kg)
Source: CHE151-1L 1Q S.Y. 2016-2017
Shown in the previous table are the
100 factors which affected the experimentation and
were determined using the data collected in
reference paper. The values for the filter
medium resistance and specific cake resistance
imply that the solid particles / cake formed
during the filtration process contributed to the
decrease in the filter rate. The resistances that
were enumerated can also affect the pressure
drop across the filter [3]. The specific cake
resistance is the resistance of the amount of
cake deposited on the filter support which
prevents flow. This resistance often decrease
with velocity and feed concentration. On the
other hand, the filter medium resistance
includes the resistance to flow of the piping
leads to and from the filter [4].
CONCLUSION

Table 2 shows the computed values for For this experiment, the objective of this
the unknowns for this experiment. The data experiment which it to evaluate the specific
used here is still from the same reference cake resistance and the filter medium
resistance in a plate-and-filter frame press was
paper.
not a success because of the insufficient data
collected. However, using the data from the
Table 2. Parameters
previous work of the students, observations
Cake Coefficient, Kc 0.024 were made.
(s/m6)
Initial volumetric 0.3781 The relationship between the volume
flow rate, qo (m^3/s) and t/V was analysed using graphical method to
evaluate the cake coefficient and initial
Slurry concentration, 7.2125
volumetric rate. From the plot of the points, it
Cs (kg/m3) followed the expected result which is to have a
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 CHE151-1L Chemical Engineering Laboratory 2
1st Quarter SY 2017-2018

positive slope. This positive slope implies that

the rate of filtration process decreases steadily
with increasing volume of filtrate collected.
Also, by using the data from the reference
work, the resistances needed were computed.

REFERENCES

[1] Filtration. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/science/filtration
-chemistry

[2] Cooling Tower. Retrieved from:

http://www.em-ea.org/guide%20books/book-
3/chapter%203.7%20cooling%20tower.pdf

[3] De Guzman, M. R., Gutierrez, C. L. 2005.

Chemical Engineering Laboratory Manual Part
2.

[4] Geankoplis, C. J. (2003). Principles of

Transport Processes and Separation Processes,
4th Ed. Pearson Education Inc.

[5] Silava, M. C. L., (2016). Retrieved from

Chemical Engineering Laboratory 2 MS Excel 1Q
16-17

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 CHE151-1L Chemical Engineering Laboratory 2
1st Quarter SY 2017-2018

APPENDIX

Table A.1 Original Raw Data

Wt. Recovery 302.7 g
Wt. Original 577 g
Volume of Water 80 L
Volumetric flow rate 2 L/min.

Table A.2 Raw Data

Source: CHE151-1L 1Q A.Y. 2016-2017
Volume (L) t
5 13.17
10 26.11
15 42.00
20 55.85
25 74.36
30 93.16
35 109.61
40 130.16
45 147.66
50 165.98
55 187.81
60 205.55
65 221.46
70 243.45
75 256.45
80 275.02

B. Sample Computations
For V=5 L, t= 13.17 s
t 13.17 s
= = 𝟐. 𝟔𝟑 𝐬/𝐋
V 5L
𝐬
K C = 2(slope) = 2(0.012) = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝟔
𝐦
1 1 𝐦𝟑
qo = = = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟖𝟏
𝑦 − 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 2.6448 𝐬

Filtrate viscosity assumed to be 0.001 kg-m/s

Concentration= 7.2125 kg/m3= kg solid/m3 water
Area= 0.65 m2
∆𝑃 = 214739 Pa

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 CHE151-1L Chemical Engineering Laboratory 2
1st Quarter SY 2017-2018

Specific Cake Resistance:

𝜇𝐶𝑆 𝛼
𝐾𝑐 =
𝐴2 𝑔𝑐 ∆𝑃
(0.001)(7.2125)𝛼
0.024 =
(0.65)2 (1)(214739)
𝜶 = 𝟑𝟎𝟏, 𝟗𝟎𝟎 m/kg
Filter Medium Resistance:
1 𝜇𝑅𝑚
=
𝑞𝑜 𝐴𝑔𝑐 ∆𝑃
1 (0.001)𝑅𝑚
=
0.3781 (0.65)(1)(214739)
𝟏
𝑹𝒎 = 𝟑𝟔𝟗, 𝟏𝟔𝟐, 𝟏𝟏𝟎 𝟑
𝒎

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