Predicting the performance of pressure filtration processes by coupling computational fluid dynamics and discrete element methods

Abstract

To obtain a fundamental understanding of the various factors affecting pressure filtration performance, we developed a coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) model for simulating the effect of solvent flow through the solid particle cake. The model was validated using data collected by filtering mixtures of spherical glass beads and deionized water through a dead-end cell over a range of applied pressures. Numerical experiments were performed to study the effects of particle properties, liquid properties and operating conditions on filtration performance. The model predicted that the filtrate flow rate could be strongly affected by the mean size of the particles, the presence of small particles (i.e. fines) in the particle distribution, the viscosity of the liquid, and particle deformation leading to cake compression. Our study demonstrated that CFD-DEM modeling is a powerful approach for understanding cake filtration processes and predicting filtration performance.

Development of a Potent Stabilizer for Long-Term Storage of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Antigens

“…Previously, Harmsen et al reported that the combined use of 30% sucrose and 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA) in TK buffer was effective for the stabilization of FMDV during long-term storage at 4 °C when it was formulated into Marcol 52-based double oil emulsion vaccine, while 10% sucrose and 1% BSA combination was not [ 21 ]. However, if the 30% sucrose, which has high viscosity of 5.12 η at 4 °C [ 22 ], would be used for non-formulated vaccine antigens, it could burden the downstream processes, including filtration, as there is an inverse correlation between the flow rate of filtrate and liquid viscosity as Darcy’s law [ 23 , 24 ]. Moreover, BSA is a well-known allergen, whose residual content should not exceed 50 ng/dose in human vaccines [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Material Properties in Cake Filtration – Discrete Element Simulation of Compression‐Permeability Cells

“…Cundall and Strack 19 first described the DEM for investigating the behavior of soil grains. Recently, it was also adopted for simulations of cake filtration 16, 20. The method comprises tracking individual particles and their interactions with other particles or walls.…”

“…Recently, it was also adopted for simulations of cake filtration [16,20]. The method comprises tracking individual particles and their interactions with other particles or walls.…”

“…1 summarizes the fixed properties of all simulations. The coefficient of restitution, the minimum separation distance of the particles D min 1) , and the cutoff distance for cohesive inter-actions D max were chosen in the range of the works by Parteli et al [25] and Li et al [20]. The small and large particle diameters were set to lie within the size range, where a high increase in porosity due to adhesion was expected, according to Parteli et al [25].…”

Operation Design of Reaction Crystallization Using Homogeneity Evaluation for the Quality Improvement of Agglomerated Crystalline Particles

“…In other words, in many previous studies, not only the target average value but also the distribution of the characteristic was investigated, because characteristic distribution significantly complicates quality control. Fridolin et al and Boyang et al also indicated that particle size distribution, which is one of the char-acteristic distributions, significantly affected the performance of crystalline products and filtration [6,7]. Therefore, improvement in characteristic distribution is significant.…”