ChE 514L: Chemical Engineering Lab I I

Experimental Report


Course Number and Name:
ChE 514L
Chemical Engineering Laboratory II
Semester and Year:
1
st
Semester AY 2014-2015
Name of Team Leader:
Vidal, Gaelian Haryeth B.
Name of Lab Instructor:
Asst. Prof. Carol M. Encarnado
Lab Section and Meeting Time:
5 ChE C, 8:00-11:00 am, Friday
Experiment Number:
E1
Title of Experiment:
Sedimentation
Date of Experiment Performed:
August 22, 2014
Team No.: 1
Team Members:
Juatco, Graciela Marie A.
Mosca, Honey Lou C.
Reyes, Jezzy Mae A.
Rosal, Joanna Mae P.
Date of Report Submitted:
September 5, 2014
Grade:
Abstract (15 pts)
Objectives (5 pts)
Theory & Methods (15
pts)

Results & Discussion
(40 pts)

Conclusions (5 pts)
References (10 pts)
Appendices (10 pts)
Final Score:
Instructor Comments:

1
ABSTRACT
[Primary Contributor: Rosal, Joanna Mae P.; Secondary Contributor: Reyes, Jezzy Mae
A.]


OBJECTIVE AND INTRODUCTION
[Primary Contributor: Juatco, Graciela Marie A.; Secondary Contributor: Rosal, Joanna
Mae P.]

Introduction
Sedimentation is one of the methods used in industry to separate liquid-liquid or
solid-liquid mixtures. The separation of a dilute slurry or suspension by gravity settling
into a clear fluid and slurry of higher solids content is called Sedimentation [1].
Applications of settling and sedimentation include removal of solids from liquid
sewage wasters, settling of crystals from the mother liquor, separation of liquid-liquid
mixture from a solvent-extraction stage in a settler. Settling of solid food particles from a
liquid food and settling of slurry from a soybean leaching process. The particles can be
solid particles or liquid drops [2].
In some processes of sedimentation purpose is to remove the particles from the
fluid stream so that the fluid is free of particle contaminants. When a particle is at a
sufficient distance from the walls of the container and from other particles so that its fall
is not affected by them, the process is called free settling. When the particles are
crowded, they settle at a lower rate and the process is called hindered setting [1].
2
THEORY AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
[Primary Contributor: Mosca, Honey Lou C.; Secondary Contributor: Juatco, Graciela
Marie A.]

Theory
Sedimentation is a chemical engineering process by which sediment is formed at
the bottom of a liquid. Sediment is the particulates that settle to the bottom of a liquid. It
is also the separation of the dilute slurry into a clear supernatant liquid and a concentrated
slurry called sludge. Particles will move in a uniform manner when the particles
experience a force, ether due to gravity or due to centrifugal motion. The direction of the
particles depends on the direction exerted by the force affecting it. For gravity settling,
the particles will tend to fall at the bottom of the vessel, forming a slurry at the vessel
base.
When the sedimentation involves a dilute slurry, the settling characteristics depend on
the viscosity of the medium, relative density of the particles with respect to that of the
medium, and the particle size. The particles in this case settle individually. The viscosity
of the medium can affect the settling velocity of the particles. As the viscosity of the
medium increases, the velocity of the particles decreases. When it comes to the particle
size and density, as the particle size increases, the density will favour faster settling. The
settling by gravity proceeds in this case such that after some time there will be a clear
demarcation line between the clear liquid and the slurry. As the mixture approaches the
end of the settling period, the demarcation line becomes more and more distinct.
The behaviour of the slurry depends on its concentration. Hindered settling happens when
the particles settle as a single body with lowered velocity due to the mutual interference
among them. There is only one zone at the start which is the layer of homogenously
dispersed solutes. Four zones develop at the middle of the separation: zone A is the
region of supernatant liquid, zone B is the remains of the homogenous zone developed at
the start, zone C or the transition zone is the region of variable concentration, and zone D
is the region of settled solutes. During the operation, zones B and C gradually disappears
while zones A and D increases. The final level of the sludge is called as the ultimate
height.
The settling characteristics of the slurry is shown in the plot of the height of demarcation
line vs. time. The settling velocity is the derivative of the curve with respect to time. The
settling velocity is independent of the initial height of the slurry and it is a function of the
initial concentration.

Experimental Method
The W2 Sedimentation apparatus (220 volts) is used to study the settling
characteristic of suspended solids and the display of wall effects.
For the start-up, the amount of CaCO3 slurries (5%, 7.5% and 10% by weight
CaCO3) was prepared. Each of the sedimentation tube has the capacity of 20 L. The
different slurry characteristics and operating conditions: concentration, temperature, bulk
density, and bulk viscosity was obtained.
In the experimental procedure, the slurry was poured into the sedimentation tubes
with constant stirring. The tube for 5%, 7.5% and 10% CaCO3 slurries was filled with the
level of 90 cm. The other tubes was filled to different levels of 70 cm and 50 cm. The
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initial height of the slurries in the tube was recorded. The tubes were shaken thoroughly
to disperse the solids uniformly. The tubes were mounted to the sedimentation stand at
the same time. The sedimentation stand of the slurries should be undisturbed. The height
of the interface was recorded every two minutes time interval. The rise of the sludge
interface at the base of the tubes was also recorded. The height of the interface was
recorded until there was no observable changes in the height. The final compaction
reading was also recorded after 24 hours.




RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
[Primary Contributor: Vidal, Gaelian Haryeth B.; Secondary Contributor: Mosca, Honey
Lou C.]


CONCLUSIONS
[Primary Contributor: Reyes, Jezzy Mae A.; Secondary Contributor: Vidal, Gaelian
Haryeth B.]


Conclusion


Conclusion

4
There are several factors affecting sedimentation characteristics. These factors
include concentration variations and the height of the slurry. In the sedimentation
experiment, height and time can be considered directly proportional as settling time
increases as the height of the slurry increases. Variations in height would also result to a
change in the settling velocity. On the other hand, the height of the interface of the slurry
can be considered inversely proportional with time as the time increases when the height
is lessen and vice versa. Based from the results gathered in the experiment, it can also be
concluded that increasing the initial mixture concentration decreases the settling velocity
of the particles before the compression settling zone. Moreover, we can say that as we
reach the latter part of the experiment, the operation may hinder the settling as there is a
transition period when the slurry and sludge become uniformly concentrated together.
There are also other factors affecting the rate between the heights of the interface
versus time, these are the particle size, bulk density and viscosity as these factors
contribute to the adsorption of particles. This can be portrayed in the compression settling
zone. In this zone, it can be noticed that a higher concentration would result to a higher
settling velocity. This is the reason behind CaCo
3
sediment contracts on a higher time
frame during the first minutes as there is a higher concentration of the said sediment at
that point in time. This is the reason behind the differences in the settling velocity of the
cylinders containing different sediment concentrations.
Also, it can be concluded that there are certain variables affecting the increase or
decrease in the percent error computed. An example would be improper shaking of the
cylinders would mean a difference in the settling time or lack of attentiveness from the
experiment would make a variation on the recorded results.

Recommendations



REFERENCES

[1] Geankoplis, C.J., Principles of Transport Processes and Separation Processes,
Prentice Hall., 2012, pp. 919- 932.
[2] McCabe, W.L. Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 7
th
ed., New York, N.Y.:
McGraw-Hill, 2005, pp. 1055- 1065.
[3] Engineering SL, Engineering: Its a Learning & Informative blog for
Engineering, http://engrsl.blogspot.com/2012/04/sedimentation.html

5
APPENDICES

A. Sample Calculations
[Primary Contributor: ; Secondary Contributor:]













B. Raw Data Tables
[Primary Contributor: Vidal, Gaelian Haryeth B.]
900 mm 10% 900 mm 7.5% 900 mm 5% 700 mm 5% 500 mm 5%
TIME
(min)
HEIGHT
OF
SLURRY
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLUDGE
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLURRY
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLUDGE
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLURRY
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLUDGE
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLURRY
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLUDGE
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLURRY
(mm)
HEIGHT
OF
SLUDGE
(mm)
2 830 38 825 30 810 10 610 15 450 11
4 765 53 740 42 700 15 510 19 385 18
6 695 61 660 49 580 17 410 25 310 21
8 624 71 575 55 460 22 300 30 235 24
10 551 76 487 62 335 25 180 37 185 26
12 485 85 410 67 230 28 90 42 105 28
14 425 92 335 73 130 32 90 42 31 29
16 360 105 265 80 90 33 90 40 31 28
18 295 ** 190 85 90 32 90 38 31 27
20 215 ** 190 90 90 30 90 37 31 26
22 147 ** 190 85 90 29 90 36 31 25.5
24 147 119 190 83 90 28.5 90 35.5 31 25
26 147 111 190 81 90 28 90 35 31 25
28 147 104 190 81 90 28 90 35 31 25
147 90 190 69 90 27 90 33 31 23
** The height of the sludge is almost unnoticeable therefore, readings were not
obtained.
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Note: This form must be filled out by each student and submitted to the lab instructor
separately from the lab report.

Course Name: _____________________________________

Date of Experiment: ________________________________


A. Self Evaluation

a. Rate Your Overall Contribution to this Project, (5=key contributions,
1=little contributions)

5 4 3 2 1
b. Explain briefly what you contributed to this project:
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B. Peer Evaluations

Group
member
Student's name
Rate the contribution
(5=key contributor,
1=little contributions)
Describe the contribution made during the
experiment and in writing the lab report
1 5 4 3 2 1
2 5 4 3 2 1
3 5 4 3 2 1


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