Filtration Process Optimization: Rheological Behavior of a Filter Cake at Different Moisture Contents

Damien Bourcier (1) , Yan Siong Kong (1) , Jean-Pierre Feraud (1) , Denis Ode (1) , Didier Colson (2) , François Puel (3, 2)

1 CEA-DES (ex-DEN) - CEA-Direction des Energies (ex-Direction de l'Energie Nucléaire)
2 LAGEP - Laboratoire d'automatique et de génie des procédés
3 LGPM - Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés et Matériaux - EA 4038

Transferring a wet cake from a filter to a dryer or furnace could severely lower the productivity of a whole process when the wet cake exhibits high viscosity and a sticky paste behavior. Depending on their moisture content, three distinct regions of rheological behavior were identified. Among them, only the granular solid type had sufficient flowability during the transfer operation. It was possible to discriminate the flow behavior more quantitatively by determining two transition values of moisture content. Rheological measurements were carried out at a constant shear rate representative of that encountered in the mechanical transfer system used at plant scale. The use of vane geometry for the rheometer was necessary to ensure an accurate repeatability of the viscosity measurements.

Keywords: Rheology; Vane geometry; Filtration; Moisture content

Domains: Engineering Sciences [physics]; Chemical and Process Engineering; Chemical Sciences; Chemical engineering

Damien Bourcier, Yan Siong Kong, Jean-Pierre Feraud, Denis Ode, Didier Colson, et al.. Filtration Process Optimization: Rheological Behavior of a Filter Cake at Different Moisture Contents. Chemical Engineering and Technology, 2016, Mechanical Particle-fluid Separation Technology, 39 (3), pp.515-521. ⟨10.1002/ceat.201500426⟩. ⟨hal-01279592⟩