Influence of chamber design and operating conditions on the washing efficiency of a filter press

Filter cake washing has been thoroughly studied in the case of vacuum filtration but little information is available in literature concerning the washing technique used in filter presses. This paper is concerned with the influence on the washing efficiency and the wash time of design parameters such as the washing mode (plate-to-plate or single inlet). Operating variables can also influence the washing efficiency, i.e. the cake thickness, the degree of filling of the filter chamber, the pore velocity of the wash liquor, the wash feed interruptions and the uneven distribution of wash liquor. These various parameters have been studied by means of experiments performed on industrial slurries and compared with the most current mathematical models.