ADVANCED FOOD PROCESSING AND

PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES-FSR2003

FILTRATION IN FOOD PROCESSING

NIRAJ SINGH
M.TECH-FSQM Ist SEM
I.D.No.(RA1812036010015)
DEFINITION

 Filtration: It may be define as a process of separation

of solids from a fluid by passing the same through a
porous medium that retains the solids but allows the
fluid to pass through.

 Clarification: Whensolid are present in very low

concentration, i.e., exceeding 1.0% w/v, the
not
process of separation from liquid is called
its clarification.

2
INTRODUCTION
 Filtration is the process of passing a fluid containing
suspended particles through a porous medium.
 The medium traps the suspended solids producing a
clarified filtrate. Filtration is employed when the
valuable component of the mixture is the filtrate.
TERMS USED IN
FILTRATION

Slurry • Suspension
to be filtered

• Porous
Filter
medium medium used
to retain
solid

solids on the
cake •
Filter filter
Accumulated

• Clear liquid
Filtrate
passing through the
filter 4
PRINCIPLE OF FILTRATION
 Since the filter medium is permeable only to the fluid, it retains
the solid particles and permits only the fluid to pass through
which is collected as the filtrate. The volume of filtrate
collected per unit time (dV/dt) is termed as the rate of
filtration.
 As the filtration proceeds, solid particle accumulate on the filter
medium forming a packed bed of solids, called filter cake.

 As the thickness of the cake increases

 resistance to flow of filtrate increases
 rate of filtration gradually decreases.
 If rate is maintained to be constant then pressure difference
driving force (-P) will increase.

Therefore, a batch filter is operated either at constant pressure or

at constant rate.
 GENERAL THEORY OF
FILTRATION
• Darcy's law is a phenomenological derivedconstitutive
equation that describes the flow of a through
afluid
porous medium.
• Darcy's law is a simple proportional relationship between the
instantaneous discharge rate through a porous medium, the
viscosity of the fluid and the pressure drop over a given
distance.

The total discharge, Q (units of volume per time, e.g., m3/s) is equal to the product
of the intrinsic permeability of the medium, k (m2), the cross-sectional area to flow,
A (units of area, e.g., m2), and the pressure drop (Pb - Pa), (Pascals), all divided by
the viscosity, μ (Pa·s) and the length over which the pressure drop is taking place
(m).
FILTER MEDIA
 The surface upon which solids are deposited in a filter
is called the “Filter medium”
 Properties of ideal filter medium:
 It should-
1. be capable of delivering a clear filtrate at a suitable
production rate.
2. have sufficient mechanical strength.
3. be inert.
4. retain the solids without plugging at the start of filtration.
5. Not absorb dissolve material.
6. Sterile filtration imposes a special requirement since the
pore size must not exceed the dimension of bacteria or
spores.
MATERIAL USED AS FILTER MEDIA
Woven material
 Made up of wool, silk, metal or synthetic fibres (rayon, nylon
etc.).
 These include a- wire screening and b- fabrics of cotton, wool,
nylon.
 Wire screening e.g. stainless steel is durable, resistance to
plugging and easily cleaned.
 Cotton is a common filter, however, Nylon is superior for
pharmaceutical use, since it is unaffected by mold, fungus or
bacteria and has negligible absorption properties .
Perforated sheet metal
 Stainless steel plates have pores which act as channels as in
case of meta filters
Prefabricated porous solid units
 Sintered glass, sintered metal, earthenware and porous
plastics are used for fabrication
 <- NYLON
MONOFILAME
NT (60X
ZOOM

Polyester
Multifilament
60x zoom
FILTER AIDS
 The objective of filter aid is to prevent the medium
from becoming blocked and to form an open, porous
cake, hence, reducing the resistance to flow of the
filtrate.
 Filter aid forms a surface deposit which screens out
the solids and also prevents the plugging of
supporting filter medium.
Characteristics of filter aids:

 Chemically inert and free from impurities.

 Low specific gravity, so remain suspended in liquids.
 Porous rather than dense, so that pervious cake can
be formed.
 Recoverable.
 Filter aids may be used in either or
both two ways:
1) Pre- coating technique:
by forming a pre-coat over the filter medium by
filtering a suspension of the filter aid .
2) Body- mix technique:
A small proportion of the filter aid (0.1-0.5 %) is
added to the slurry to be filtered. This slurry is
recirculated through the filter until a clear filtrate is
obtained, filtration then proceeds to completion.
TYPES OF FILTERS
 PRESSURE FILTERS
 Plate-and-Frame Filter Press 

 Horizontal Plate Filter

 Shell-and-Leaf Filters

 Edge Filters

 VACUUM FILTERS

 Rotary Drum Vacuum Filters

 Rotary Vacuum Disc Filters

 CENTRIFUGAL FILTERS

 Batch Centrifugal Filters

 Continuous Centrifugal Filters

PLATE-AND-FRAME FILTER PRESS
 It consist of an assembly of grooved plates and a frame
squeezed tightly together to form a liquid-tight unit.
 The feed is pumped into the hollow frames through
openings in one corner, cake builds up in the frames and
the filtrate passes through the filter medium onto the
grooved surface of the plates, from where it exits via an
outlet channel in each plate.
 After filtering is complete, wash liquid may be pumped
through the press following the same path as the filtrate.
 After washing, the press is opened, the cake is removed
from the frames, the filter medium is cleaned and the
press is reassembled ready for the next run.
A MEDIUM SCALE FRAME AND
FILTER PRESS..
HORIZONTAL PRESS FILTER
 The filter structure consists of a stack of plates attached
to a hollow shaft which are mounted inside a pressure
vessel with each plate covered with a suitable filter
medium.
 The slurry is fed under pressure into the vessel and the
cake, which is retained by the filter medium, forms on
the top of each plate whilst the filtrate passes through the
hollow shaft further to the process.
 Filter sizes may vary but generally the maximum is 60
m2 area and designed for a 6 bar operating pressure.
SHELL-AND-LEAF FILTERS
 It consists of a wire mesh screen or grooved plate located
inside a pressure vessel or shell over which the filter medium
is stretched.
 The feed slurry is pumped through the vessel then the cake
builds up on the filter medium covering the leaves while the
filtrate passes through the medium into the hollow leaf and
then out through the leaf supports. Leaves can be stationary
or they can rotate about a horizontal axis.
 After filtering is stopped, washing is carried out by pumping
wash liquid through the cake and leaves. The cake can be
removed by withdrawing the leaf assembly from the shell
and cleaning the leaves manually.
 They are mostly used for relatively long filtration runs with
slurries of low or moderate solids content.
SHELL-AND-LEAF FILTERS

Internal Structure
EDGE FILTERS
 It consists of a number of stacks of rings or discs, known as
filter piles or packs fixed to a header plate inside a vertical
pressure vessel.
 Before filtration starts, a precoat of filter aid is applied to the
edges of the discs. Then the feed slurry is pumped into the
pressure vessel, the cake builds up on top of the precoat of filter
aid, while the filtrate passes between the discs and exits via the
grooves on the supporting rod. Additional filter aid can be mixed
with the feed.
 When filtering and washing are complete, the cake is removed
by back flushing with liquid through the filtrate outlet and
removing the cake in the form of sludge through an outlet in the
bottom of the pressure vessel.
 They are used for removing small quantities of fine solids from
liquids.
Fig: Edge Filters
ROTARY DRUM VACUUM FILTERS
 It consist of a cylindrical drum which rotates about a horizontal axis
partially immersed in a tank of the feed slurry and the surface of the
drum is divided into a number of shallow compartments by wooden or
metal strips running the length of the drum.
 Filter medium is stretched over the drum surface, supported on
perforated plates/ wire mesh also a pipeline runs from each
compartment to a rotary valve located centrally at one end of the
drum.
 Consider one of the compartments on the surface of the drum, as the
drum rotates, this compartment becomes submerged in the slurry and
a vacuum is applied to the compartment through the rotary valve.
Then filtrate is drawn through the medium and flows through the pipe
to the rotary valve, from where it is directed to a filtrate receiver. The
solids form a layer of cake on the outer surface of the medium where
the cake increases in thickness as long as the compartment remains
submerged in the slurry. As it emerges from the slurry, residual filtrate
is sucked from the cake.
ROTARY DRUM VACUUM FILTERS
ROTARY VACUUM DISC FILTERS
 In a disc filter, instead of a drum, a number of circular filter
leaves are mounted on a horizontal shaft that rotate partially
submerged in a tank of slurry where each disc is divided into
sections.
 Filter medium covers each section and are connected to a
rotary valve which controls the application of vacuum and
compressed air in it. Scraper knives are connected to remove
the cake from each disc.
 They have a larger filtering surface per unit floor area
compared to drum filters. However, cake removal can be
difficult and damage to filter cloth is excessive.
 Other designs of continuous vacuum filters are also available
featuring moving belts, rotating tables and other supports for
the filter medium and these are used mainly for waste treatment
rather than in direct food applications.
Fig: Rotary Vacuum Disc Filters
BATCH CENTRIFUGAL FILTERS
 It consists of a cylindrical metal bowl which is suspended
from the end of a vertical shaft within a stationary casing.
 The bowl is rotating at moderate speed then slurry is fed
into the bowl where a cake forms on the medium lining
inside of the perforated bowl wall and the filtrate passes
through the perforations into the casing and out through a
liquid outlet.
 To recover most of the filtrate the speed of the bowl is
increased. Then wash liquid is sprayed onto the cake and
spun off at high speed.
 The bowl is then slowed down; the cake cut out with an
unloader knife / plough and removed through an opening
in the bottom of the bowl. Cycle times vary over 3–30
minutes.
Fig: Batch Centrifugal Filters
CONTINUOUS CENTRIFUGAL FILTERS
 It consist of a conical perforated bowl that rotates about a
vertical axis inside a stationary casing where the incline of
the bowl causes the separation force to split between
vertical and horizontal elements resulting in the product
moving upwards.
 Then the vertical force pushes the product up over the
basket lip into the casing from where it is discharged.
 The horizontal element ensures that purging of the liquid
phase takes place. This type of centrifuge is used for
separating sugar crystals from syrup.
Fig: Continuous Centrifugal Filters
APPLICATIONS OF FILTRATION IN
FOOD PROCESSING
 Edible Oil Refining
 Sugar Refining

 Beer Production

 Wine Making

 The filtration of starch and gluten suspensions

 The clarification of brines, sugar syrups, fruit juices,

yeast and meat extracts etc.
REFERENCES
 Separations in Food Processing, James G. Brennan,
Alistair S. Grandison and Michael J. Lewis
 Food Technology-I, A. K. Singh & P. N. Raju Dairy
Technology Division NDRI, Karnal
 Dairy Engineering, S. Ravi Kumar Department of Dairy
Engineering SVVU, Tirupati
 Internet Sources