Experimental study of cake formation on heat treated and membrane coated needle felts in a pilot scale pulse jet bag filter using optical in-situ cake height measurement

Pulse-jet bag filters are frequently employed for particle removal from off gases. Separated solids form a layer on the permeable filter media called filter cake. The cake is responsible for increasing pressure drop. Therefore, the cake has to be detached at a predefined upper pressure drop limit or at predefined time intervals. Thus the process is intrinsically semi-continuous. The cake formation and cake detachment are interdependent and may influence the performance of the filter. Therefore, understanding formation and detachment of filter cake is important. In this regard, the filter media is the key component in the system. Needle felts are the most commonly used media in bag filters. Cake formation studies with heat treated and membrane coated needle felts in pilot scale pulse jet bag filter were carried out. The data is processed according to the procedures that were published already [Powder Technology, Volume 173, Issue 2, 19 April 2007, Pages 93-106]. Pressure drop evolution, cake height distribution evolution, cake patches area distribution and their characterization using fractal analysis on different needle felts are presented here. It is observed that concavity of pressure drop curve for membrane coated needle felt is principally caused by presence of inhomogeneous cake area load whereas it is inherent for heat treated media. Presence of residual cake enhances the concavity of pressure drop at the start of filtration cycle. Patchy cleaning is observed only when jet pulse pressure is too low and unable to provide the necessary force to detach the cake. The border line is very sharp. Based on experiments with limestone dust and three types of needle felts, for the jet pulse pressure above 4 bar and filtration velocity below 50 mm/s, cake is detached completely except a thin residual layer (100-200 μm). Uniformity and smoothness of residual cake depends on the surface characteristics of the filter media. Cake height distribution of residual cake and newly formed cake during filtration prevails. The patch size analysis and fractal analysis reveal that residual cake grow in size (latterly) following regeneration initially on the base with edges smearing out, however, the cake heights are not leveled off. Fractal dimension of cake patches boundary falls in the range of 1-1.4 and depends on vertical position as well as time of filtration. Cake height measurements with Polyimide (PI) needle felts were hampered on account of its photosensitive nature.     

Optical in-situ measurement of filter cake height during bag filter plant operation

A pilot scale jet pulsed bag filter test facility is operated at conditions similar to those of the industrial bag filters. The facility is equipped with a stereo vision based optical system for in-situ cake height distribution measurements on the bag filter surface. Experimental data are presented and data evaluation procedures are discussed to elaborate the features of the measuring system.The results show that the cake height distribution becomes narrower towards the end of filtration cycles. A steep pressure drop rise is observed at the start of a filtration cycle in the absence of re-attachment and a non-uniform bag cleaning, which may be attributed to different cake properties. The specific cake resistance remains constant over the linear part of the pressure drop curve indicating a non-compressible cake formation.The analysis of residual cake patches shows a large number of small sized cake patches and a few large sized cake patches on the filter surface. The cake patch size increases with the cake formation. The fractal analysis of patches boundary indicates preferential cake formation at the boundary of the residual cake patches shortly after regeneration.     

Performance of fibrous filters during nanoparticle cake formation

Fibrous filters are highly efficient in removing micrometer particles, but their performance in the nanometer particle range is still little known. The aim of this study was to evaluate pressure drop and collection efficiency during nanoparticles cake formation using commercial fibrous filters. The filter media used were High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) and polyester filters. The aerosols were generated by a commercial inhaler using a 5 g/L solution of NaCl and the particles produced were in the size range from 6 to 800 nm, with a peak at around 40 nm. A superficial velocity (v_s) of 0.06 m/s was employed. During the filtration, the maximum pressure drop established was ?P ₌ ?P_f +980Pa, where ?P_f is the initial pressure drop of the filter. The collection efficiency was determined for a clean filter and for intermediate pressure drops. The filtration curves obtained showed that the HEPA filter provided greater surface filtration, compared to the polyester filter. Comparison of the collection efficiencies for clean filters revealed that the HEPA filter was highly efficient, even in the absence of cake, while the polyester filter showed initial collection efficiencies of between 20 and 40% for particles in the size range from 100 nm to 1000 nm. However, after formation of the filter cake, the collection efficiencies of both filters were almost 100% during the final stage of filtration. This shows that the fibrous filter can be applied in several industrial processes with highly efficient nanoparticle separation, after the formation of a thin layer cake filtration.     

The influence of a 2-component model on the computed regeneration behaviour of an uncoated diesel particulate filter

The present work deals with the modelling of diesel particulate filters. Model extensions as well as further development regarding soot monitoring during regeneration are investigated. A slip flow model, leading to an improvement of computed pressure drop profiles, a shape correction term, considering an increasing perimeter which changes the wall flow through the particle layer, and a 2-component model, which distinguishes between soot as cake upon and soot within the filter wall, have been implemented and the effects on previous results discussed. However, the main focus of the work is laid upon a sensitivity analysis regarding soot combustion within the pore combined with a discussion upon judging the accuracy of computed results. In order to compare experimental and computed results an uncoated SiC filter with 200 CPSI and 15 mil wall thickness was used. All experiments were conducted under real-world conditions on an engine test bench, which includes filter loading and regeneration. It can be shown, that the 2-component model effects positively the simulation of filter loading, as the filtration can be divided into deep bed and cake filtration. Due to the sensitivity analysis on kinetic parameters different effects on pressure drop and soot loading profiles during regeneration have been investigated. A faster soot combustion within the filter wall shows only a slight effect on the total soot loading curve. However, there is a strong influence on the pressure drop profile, which lowers the deviation between experiment and simulation.     

Distributions of age, thickness and gas velocity in the cake of jet pulsed filters—application and validation of a generations filter model

Different imperfections are observed with jet pulsed filters. They manifest themselves most obviously in the curve of the pressure drop versus time. A convex pressure drop curve indicates cake compaction. But jet pulsed filters frequently show a concave rise of the pressure drop curve. This phenomenon is due to a strongly nonuniform cake area load on the filter and it is generally attributed to incomplete cake removal. Incomplete cake removal takes place when only a fraction of the total filter area is cleaned at the end of a filter cycle or when patchy cleaning prevails. Patchy cleaning means that a jet pulse removes the entire filter cake of only a fraction of the exposed filter area except for a thin adhesive dust layer.In this paper a filter model is proposed in which the different classes of cake thickness are understood to result from different cake generations. A cake becomes one generation older when it survives the jet pulse cleaning at the end of a filtration cycle, although the area that is occupied by the cake on the filter medium is diminished by the jet pulse.This generations filter model can be used to find the distributions of age, thickness and gas velocities in the cake from steady-state operational data. The steady-state, periodic model provides a complete basis for the simulation of heterogeneous gas/solid reactions in the cake of jet pulsed filters.In the model intermediate cake build up during the cleaning procedure is considered. There redeposition of removed filter cake also takes place, and its extent is estimated. The model can also serve to determine from macroscopic process data, if the cleaning system of a filter installation operates in the undesirable mode of patchy cleaning.Experiments from a pilot plant for dry flue gas cleaning are presented and the generations filter model is validated with the experimental data.     

Numerical simulation of soot filtration and combustion within diesel particulate filters

The numerous benefits offered by diesel engines, compared to gasoline ones, are balanced by a drawback of increasing concern, namely soot emissions. Nowadays, soot emissions can be reduced by physically trapping the particles within on-board diesel particulate filters (DPF). The filter gets progressively loaded by filtering the soot laden flue gases, thus causing an increasing pressure drop, until regeneration takes place. The aim of this work is to develop a fully predictive three-dimensional mathematical model able to accurately describe the soot deposition process into the filter, the consequent gradual modification of the properties of the filter itself (i.e. permeability and porosity), the formation of a soot filtration cake, and the final regeneration step. The commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code Fluent 6.2.16, based on a finite-volume numerical scheme, is used to simulate the gas and particulate flow fields in the DPF, whereas particle filtration sub-models and regeneration kinetics are implemented through user-defined-subroutines (UDS).Model predictions highlight uneven soot deposition profiles in the first steps of the filtration process; however, the very high resistance to the gas flow of the readily formed cake layer determines the evolution into an almost constant layer of soot particles. The ignition of the loaded soot was simulated under different operating conditions, and two regeneration strategies were investigated: a “mild regeneration” at low temperature and oxygen concentration, that operated a spatially homogeneous ignition of the deposited soot, and a “fast regeneration”, with an uneven soot combustion along the axial coordinate of the filter, due to strong temperature gradients inside the filter itself. These findings are supported by comparison and validation with experimental data.     

金属丝网过滤器性能影响因素研究

对金属丝网过滤器性能的影响因素进行了综合分析,为过滤器的良好运行提供建议。在分析过滤机理的基础上,从过滤效率、压降、残余压降三个方面,分析了过滤器性能的影响因素,包括丝网结构、循环次数、过滤速度、流体浓度及温度、颗粒粒径、滤饼的可压缩性、最大允许压降、反吹压力等。结果表明,各因素之间互相影响,实际过滤过程中须综合考虑,以达到过滤器的预期性能。     

Enhancement of fine particle filtration with efficient humidification

Filtration is one of the most effective methods to remove suspended fine particles from air. In filtration processes,pressure drop of compact dust cake causes problems in efficiency and economy, which has received increasing attention and still remains challenging. In this study, we developed a novel technique to intensify the filtration of fine particles with efficient humidification. Two strategies for humidification, including ultrasonic atomization and steam humidification(controlling of ambient humidity), were employed and proved to be both effective. The regeneration frequency of the filter could be reduced by 55% with ultrasonic atomization, while steam humidification could lead to a 78% reduction in regeneration frequency. The effect of operating conditions on pressure drop and the mass loading during filtration were investigated. The dust cake showed a loose and porous structure with an optimized droplet-to-particle ratio. With the ratio of 1.53 and 0.0282, the maximum mass loading was 552 g·m-2upon the ultrasonic atomization and 720 g·m-2upon the steam humidification. The results show that humidification could slow down the increase of pressure drop during filtration and improve the efficiency of process.     

陶瓷过滤管表面粉尘层清除过程的图像分析

Based on the analysis of high-speed video images, the detachment behavior of dust cake from the ceramic candle filter surface during pulse cleaning process is investigated. The influences of the dust cake loading,the reservoir pressure, and the filtration velocity on the cleaning effectiveness are analyzed. Experimental results show that there exists an optimum dust cake thickness for pulse-cleaning process. For thin dust cake, the patchy cleaning exists and the cleaning efficiency is low; if the dust cake is too thick, the pressure drop across the dust cake becomes higher and a higher reservoir pressure may be needed. At the same time there also exists an optimum reservoir pressure for a given filtration condition.     

The Permeability Distribution (PD) Method for Filter Media Characterization

Cake filtration is frequently used for the removal of particulate solids from fluids in industrial processes. The build up of a filter cake is usually accompanied by a decrease in overall permeability of the filter leading to an increased pressure drop over the filter medium. For an incompressible filter cake that builds up on a homogeneous filter cloth (surface filtration mode), a linear pressure drop profile is expected over time. However, occasionally experiments show curved pressure drop profiles. Whereas pressure drop profiles with increasing slope are generally ascribed to cake compression and/or depth filtration, pressure drop profiles with decreasing slopes are only ascribed to inhomogeneities in the filter. Such inhomogeneities can arise due to filter cake patches and/or an inhomogeneous filter cloth itself. In this work a method is proposed that transforms the pressure drop profile of a filter into a permeability distribution (PD) of the filter medium, thus accounting for possible inhomogeneities of the medium. The determination of the PD is looked at as an inverse problem of an integral transformation. The method is applied to experimental filter pressure drop data of laboratory scale jet-pulse cleaned bag filter plants. It is found that even clean filter media can exhibit a significant permeability profile.     

The influence of cake residence time on the stable operation of a high-temperature gas filter

Varying degrees of incomplete filter regeneration lead to a progressive shortening of filtration cycles, which was both measured and modeled as a function of the time interval t_c between cleaning pulses (our definition of “cake residence time”). Of particular interest was the effect of temperature. Experiments were performed with pressure-pulse cleaned ceramic filter elements typically used in high-temperature gas filtration, for up to 200 cycles, at two temperature levels (200 and 300 °C), at two filtration velocities (3 and 5 cm/s), for several values of cake thickness, and with two different particle materials. The cake residence time was varied by adjusting the initial cycle length between 6 and 87 min without changing the cake thickness.A 2-stage model is proposed to describe the observed patterns of decrease in cycle duration as a function of cycle length t_c. For cycles exceeding a certain critical length t_c*, the rate of decrease is an exponential function of (t_c-t_c*), where t_c* and the other fit parameters was found to depend mainly on particle material as well as temperature. Below t_c* the rate of decrease becomes constant and independent of the actual cycle length. The constant was found to be a weak function of flow velocity and cake thickness as long as the cake was not too thin; a temperature dependence was not discernible for Phase 2.The results support the uniform-residual-layer hypothesis as a mechanistic explanation of the filtration behavior during both phases: a thin incremental layer of cake is left behind after each regeneration pulse, which drives the loss of cycle length. During Phase 1 the incremental layer is a temperature dependent function of cake residence time (in excess of t_c*); during Phase 2 it is not. This suggests that the thickness of this residual cake layer is related to the solidification rate in the cake. For cake residence times below a critical value, the degree of solidification is too low to affect the stability. The regeneration efficiency is then controlled by other factors such as filtration velocity and regeneration intensity (cake thickness), as in any typical bag house filter.     

烛状陶瓷过滤器的清灰分析

研究了脉冲清灰效率对过滤过程的影响。假定粉尘结构在过滤和清灰中不变的条件下,对清灰效率的影响进行了分析。发现,在一定的启动压降下,有一个最佳的清灰效率,在90%～95%之间。由于在运行的前几个循环中,粉尘压降、残留粉尘压降以及粉尘厚度、残留粉尘厚度存在较大的变化,因而在开始的几个循环中,不宜采用相同的清灰时间间隔。     

Cake filtration of suspensions in viscoelastic fluids

The fundamental framework for cake filtration of suspensions in viscoelastic media is extended to include the effects of polymer retention, including adsorption in the filter cake, polymer retention and elongational flow in the filter medium, which also undergoes compaction, and evaluation of polymer degradation in the filter cake and medium. Experimental data obtained in constant pressure filtration of starch suspensions in dilute aqueous polyacrylamide solutions confirmed the prediction of an enhanced apparent medium resistance R_ma and a reduced cake resistance α_R. Evaluations are presented of the contributions to the pressure drop due to enhanced normal stresses in elongational flow and to polymer retention (adsorption), and of the ratio of the particle size with and without adsorbed polymer in the cake. The analysis of the data points to high levels of polymer degradation during the flow of the polymer solution through the filter cake and medium.     

Cake filter scale-up, simulation and data acquisition—A new approach

This paper details a unique, automated filtration apparatus and the newly developed Filter Design Software (FDS) which facilitates equipment selection, scale-up and simulation through an integrated experimental and theoretical approach.By way of example, experimental data were obtained with the apparatus over constant, variable and stepped pressure regimes. Inherent suspension properties were maintained throughout by utilising a computer-controlled pressure regulator and cake formation was monitored by micro-pressure transducers capable of providing up to seven independent measures of liquid pressure within 3.3 mm of the filter medium surface. For constant pressure and moderately compressible talc cakes the liquid pressure increased with cake height in a non-linear manner and generally exhibited a concave profile. When a pressure step was applied following a period of constant pressure filtration, the cake structure typically required up to 30 s to reach a new pseudo-equilibrium state. During this time the reciprocal filtrate flow rate vs. filtrate volume plot was non-linear and the liquid pressures in the cake increased rapidly before remaining nearly constant. When the cake was thicker or the pressure step larger, the liquid pressure measured closer to the filter medium remained either constant following the increase in pressure or increased slowly over the 360 s duration of the pressure step which indicates potential difficulties with the stepped pressure test.The filtration data were analysed using FDS to obtain scale-up coefficients and the impact of using incorrect scale-up coefficients on likely filter performance at the process scale is shown. The simulation capabilities of FDS are also highlighted through a case study in which, by way of example, the influence of crystal formation and other operating parameters on the filter cycle for a pharmaceutical product are shown. Simulations quantify how crystal form can detrimentally influence all phases of a cycle and lead to, for instance, slower filtration and wetter filter cakes.     

Filtration and regeneration behavior of polytetrafluoroethylene membrane for dusty gas treatment

With micron talcum particles and nano-CaCO₃ powder as test dust, a series of experiments have been carried out to systematically study the gas filtration and regeneration behavior of polytetrafluoroethylene membrane, and some comparisons were made with common filter media. The experimental results showed that the PTFE membrane had a filtration efficiency of above 99.99% for micron particles, and excellent regeneration behavior was obtained, though a much higher initial pressure drop existed. Based on the results, it was concluded that the PTFE membrane is an excellent surface-filtration media for micron particles. Effects of operation parameters, including airflow velocity, particle concentration and particle characteristics were also investigated. To better understand the evolution of pressure drop during the filtration process, a mathematical model with operation parameters and characteristics of particles was derived from the gas-solid two-phase flow theories. A novel method on the determination of regeneration period of the filter media was put forward based on the analysis of the pressure drop according to this model.     

The Effect of Particle Sedimentation on Gravity Filtration

ABSTRACT

Simulation of cake formation of mono-sized and dual-sized particles under gravitational sedimentation and filtration is presented. The dynamic analysis proposed by Lu and Hwang in 1993 is applied to examine the local cake properties formed under a falling head by considering the hindered settling effect of particles in the slurry and the variation of the pressure drop across the filter septum. Results of this study show that, at a given position in a cake, the solid compressive pressure reaches a maximum value and then decreases for a gravity filtration due to the decrease in the driving head. A cake constructed with dual-sized particles has a more compact structure than does one with mono-sized particles, and larger particles will form looser packing than will smaller ones for mono-sized particles. A dual-dispersed suspension with a lower fraction of large particles will result in the lowest cake porosity and the highest specific filtration resistance of cake. Comparison of the porosity distribution in filter cake formed by means of gravity filtration and constant head filtration shows that the porosity near the filter septum of gravity filtration has a convex behavior while that of constant head filtration has a tendency toward concavity. This discrepancy is mainly due to the change in the driving head during the filtration process. Both theoretical and experimental results show that the uniformity of particle size distributions in the filter cake will be much better when the relative settling velocity between large and fine particles is reduced.     

操作温度对褶皱型不锈钢编织型过滤器阻力特性的影响

Effect of working temperature on the resistance characteristic including the permeability coefficient and the pressure drop evolution of a pleated stainless steel woven filter with a nominal pore size of 0.5 μm has been studied. The permeability coefficient was obtained based on the pressure drop data and the Darcy’s law. In three filtration experiments, pure carbon dioxide at 283 K, nitrogen at 85 K and liquid helium at 18 K are adopted, respectively. It is found that the permeability coefficient decreases at the working temperature due to the cold shrink of the filter element at cryogenic temperature. Then, two kinds of feed slurries, mixture of liquid nitrogen and solid carbon dioxide at 85 K, and mixture of liquid helium and solid nitrogen at 18 K, flow into the filter cell. The solid particles are deposited on the filter surface to form a filter cake and the purified liquid flows through the filter. It is found that the pressure drop evolution shows the same trend on these two temperatures, which can be divided into three stages with high filtration efficiency, indicating the feasibility of the filter for cryogenic application. However, variant cake resistances are obtained, which is resulted from the different interactions between solid particles in the feed slurry at lower working temperature.     

Experimentelle und theoretische Untersuchungen zur Filtration mit überlagerter Sedimentation in Drucknutschen

Sedimentation superimposed on industrial cake filtration leads to longer filtration times and often has a detrimental effect on subsequent process steps such as washing and demoisturing. The influence of sedimentation is seldom recognised in laboratory filtration experiments. Methods are presented for evaluation of pressure filter experiments with superimposed sedimentation which avoid the error made in the usual evaluation methods. For the case of zone sedimentation the article presents a graphical evaluation and a numerical method of modelling permitting scale up to any desired cake height. In superimposed classifying sedimentation simultaneous measurement of filtrate volume and cake height provide information about local variation in filter cake resistance. It is shown for a model system that, owing to sedimentation, the cake resistance shows a minimum at mean cake height and increases rapidly towards greater heights. The local cake resistance corelates with particle size distributions measured for layers of a horizontally cut filter cake. The method of evaluation presented permints determination of the flow resistance of the uppermost layers of a cake and hence estimation of the gas pressure necessary for demoisturing. The profiles of local filter cake resistance show that the relative cake layering is largely independent of the level of suspension filling. A scale-up model is presented for use in those cases where classifying sedimentation cannot be suppressed.     

Clogging modeling in pleated filters for gas filtration

A model of clogging of a pleated filter in gas filtration is presented. The model is obtained by combining a semi-analytical model of the flow in a pleated filter and an empirical model of clogging of the planar filter medium applied locally along the pleated filter channels. The model takes into account the formation of a filtration cake of variable thickness at the porous wall of the pleated filter entrance channels and the resulting evolution of the entrance channels aperture distribution during the filtration/clogging process. Based on the numerical predictions, two main clogging scenarios are identified and analyzed. The optimum pleat density, defined as the pleat density maximizing the filter capacity, is determined and shown to be greater than the pleat density minimizing the pressure drop for a clean filter. Predictions of the evolution of overall pressure drop across the pleated filter due to clogging are compared with experimental data.     

Relation of Structure,Properties and Performance of Fibrous Media for Gas Filtration

The relation between the structure, permeability and filtration performance of needled nonwoven filter media is reported. Surface treated and untreated fabrics were studied, including microporous coated, laminated e‐PTFE, heated calendered and surface singed materials. Surface treatments appear to impart higher packing densities, but mean pore size is governed by the type of treatment with microporous and PTFE having the smaller values. Filtration performance was determined from graphs of pressure drop with filtration duration, differences in filtration efficiencies and the dust concentrations in gas emissions. Except for the singed materials, the treated fabrics depicted surface filtration and the untreated depth filtration. The trend for singed fabrics showed initial depth followed by surface filtration. Markedly higher filtration efficiencies were obtained with surface filtration, which corresponded with higher rates of pressure drop. Surface treatments, giving smaller mean pore sizes, resulted in higher filter cake resistance owing to low particle penetration through the base fabric.