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Department of Chemical, Metallurgical & Materials Engineering

Lesson 6
Chapter 6: Fluid Flow Through a Packed
Bed of Particles
Introduction
Chemical engineering operations commonly involve the use of
packed and fluidized beds.
These are devices in which a large surface area for contact between a liquid
and a gas (absorption, distillation); or
a solid and a gas or liquid (adsorption, catalysis) is obtained for achieving
rapid and heat transfer.

Objectives of this lesson
Derive the Carman-Kozeny equation with the help of Darcy and
Hagen Poiseuilles equations.
Use the Carman-Kozeny equation to determine the pressure
drop required for the liquid to flow through the column at
specified flow rates.
The use of frictional factor in laminar and turbulent flows.
Fundamentals of filtration.
Problem solving involving filtration.
Definition:
A packed bed is a cylindrical column that is filled with a
suitable packing material.
The treated liquid is distributed as uniformly as possible at the
bottom of the column and flows upwards, wetting the packing
material.
The packed solids contain some species that are soluble in the
liquid, either absorbed or adsorbed in the liquid. In the case of
water treatment, the clean water is taken out at the bottom.
Schematic diagram of fixed bed column bioreactor, packed with bgh
designed to function as a continuous flow system for biosorptionbiosorption
of cadmium. (1) metal reservoir; (2) peristaltic pump; (3) flow control; (4)
glass column reactor; (5) bgh biosorbent; (6) enlarged view of column
packing; (7) extention for secondary column; and (8) effluent storage.
When a fluid passes through a porous material, it flows through
long thin passage of varying cross section.
The problem is how to calculate the flow rate based on the
nominal thickness of the layer. However, this problem was
tackled by Kozeny and later Carman.
6.1. Pressure Drop-Flow Relationship
6.1.1. Laminar Flow
In the nineteenth century Darcy (1856) observed that the flow of
water through a packed bed of sand was governed by the
following expression:




Where U is the superficial fluid velocity through the bed and (-p) is
the frictional pressure drop across a bed depth H.
|
.
|

\
|
=
bed of area sectional - cross
rate flow c volumetri fluid
velocity l Superficia
A
Q
(1)
The flow of a fluid through a packed bed of solid particles may
be analysed in terms of the fluid flow through tubes. Therefore,
the starting point is the Hagen-Poiseuille equation for laminar
flow through a tube:



Where D is the tube diameter and is the fluid viscosity.

Now, consider the packed bed to be equivalent to many tubes of
equivalent diameter D
e
following tortuous paths of equivalent
length H
e
and carrying fluid with a velocity U
i
. Then, from
equation (2),



U
i
is the actual velocity of fluid through the interstices of the packed
bed.
(2)
Kozeny modelled the layer as many small capillary tubes of
diameter D making a layer of cross-sectional area A.

The actual cross-sectional area for the flow path is A.

The ratio: is called the porosity of the material. And the
volume flow rate through the layer is Q.

Kozeny used the notion that Q = AU, where U is the superficial
velocity.


Dividing the two expressions in (3) yields,



The actual velocity is related to the superficial velocity and the
porosity through equation (4).
|
.
|

\
|
A
A'
) (c
A
Q
U
A
Q
U
i
i
= = ,
c
U
A
A
U U
i
i
= =
(3)
(4)
Carman modified this formula (equation (4)) when he realised
that the actual velocity inside the tubes must be proportionally
larger because the actual length is greater than the layer
thickness.

It follows that:

Therefore, for equivalent diameters:


Determining the porosity relationship with the volume of the tube
(V
i
).
L
UL
U
i
i
c
=
|
.
|

\
|
= =
A
L
UL
D D
U
H
p
i
e e
i
e
c

2 2
32 32
S i
i
T
i i i
V V
V
V
V
AL
L A
A
A
+
= = = = c
) 1 ( c
c

=
S
i
V
V
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
To find equivalent diameters, divide both sides by the surface area
of the tube (S)




V
i
(volume of the tube) is made of the diameter D
e
and length L
i
.

So,

The surface area of the tube:
) 1 ( c
c

=
S
V
S
V
S i
4
2
i e
i i i
L D
L A V
t
= =
i e
L D S t =
(9)
(10)
(11)
Determining the diameter, divide the volume by the surface area.




Equating equation (12) to equation (9) yields



4 ) ( 4
2
e
i e
i e i
D
L D
L D
S
V
= =
t
t
) 1 ( 4 c
c

=
S
V De
S
|
.
|

\
|

=
S
V
S
V
De
S S
) 1 (
4
) 1 (
4
c
c
c
c
(12)
(13)
(14)
Assuming that the solids are spherical particles of diameter d
s
,

Sphere volume:

Sphere surface area:

Volume/surface area:

Substituting equation (17) into equation (14) gives the equivalent-
diameter of the tube:
6
3
s
S
d
V
t
=
2
s
d S t =
6 6
2
3
s
s
s
S d
d
d
S
V
= =
t
t
) 1 ( 3
2
6 ) 1 (
4
) 1 (
4
c
c
c
c
c
c

=
|
.
|

\
|

=
|
.
|

\
|

=
s s S
d d
S
V
De
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
Now, substituting the tube diameter De to Hagen-Poiseuilles
equation (6) for equivalent diameters gives the Carman-Kozeny
equation:




or






3
2
2
) 1 (
180
) (
c
c
=
A
s
d
U
He
p
(19)
6.1.2. Turbulent Flow
For turbulent flow through a randomly packed bed of monosized
spheres of diameter d
s
the equivalent equation is:




or
3 2
2
) 1 (
75 . 1
) (
c
c

=
A
d
U
He
p
f
(20)
6.1.3. General Equation for Turbulent and Laminar
Flow
Based on extensive experimental data covering a wide range of
size and shape of particles, Ergun (1952) suggested the
following general equation for any flow conditions:





This is known as the Ergun equation for flow through a randomly
packed bed of spherical particles of diameter x or d
s
.
(21)
Under laminar conditions, the first term dominates and the
equation reduces to the Carman-Kozeny equation (150 instead
of 180).
Under turbulent flow conditions, the second term dominates; the
pressure gradient increases as the square of superficial fluid
velocity and is independent of fluid viscosity.
Reynolds number




Fully laminar conditions exist for
Fully turbulent conditions exist for
) 1 (
*
c

=
f
e
xU
R
10
*
<
e
R
2000
*
>
e
R
(22)
Ergun also expressed flow through a packed bed in terms of a
friction factor.



Equation (21) reduces to



with
(23)
6.1.4. Non-spherical Particles
The Ergun and Carman-Kozeny equations also accommodate
non-spherical particles if x is replaced by x
sv
the diameter of a
sphere having the same surface to volume ratio as the non-
spherical particles in question.

Ergun equation:




Carman-Kozeny equation:
(24)
(25)
6.2. Filtration
6.2.1. Introduction
As an example of the application for flow through packed beds of
particles cake filtration is considered.
Cake filtration is widely used in industry to separate solid
particles from suspension in liquid.
It involves the build-up of a bed or cake of particles on a porous
surface known as the filter medium, which commonly takes the
form of a woven fabric.
Pore size of the medium is less than the size of the particles to
be filtered.
This can be analysed in terms of the flow of fluid through a
packed bed of particles, the depth of which is increasing with
time.
In practice, voidage of the cake may also change with time, i.e.
compressible cake.
Main factors to be considered when selecting equipment and
operating conditions are:
The properties of the fluid, particularly its viscosity, density and corrosive
properties.
The nature of the solid its particle size and shape, size distribution, and
packing characteristics.
The concentration of solids in suspension.
The quantity of material to be handled, and its value.
Whether the valuable product is the solid, the fluid, or both.
Whether it is necessary to wash the filtered solids.
Whether very slight contamination caused by contact of the suspension or
filtrate with the various components of the equipment is detrimental to the
product.
Whether the feed liquor may be heated.
Whether any form of pre-treatment might be help.
The most important factors on which the rate of filtration depends
on are:
The drop in pressure from the feed to the far side of the filter medium.
The area of the filtering surface.
The viscosity of the filtrate.
The resistance of the filter cake.
The resistance of the filter medium and initial layers of cake.
6.2.2. Incompressible Cake
First case scenario, ignore the filter medium and consider only
the cake itself; hence the pressure drop versus liquid flow
relation is still described by the Ergun equation.
Particle size and range of liquid flow and properties commonly
used in industry give rise to laminar flow and so the second term
(turbulent) vanishes.

Therefore, for a given slurry (with fixed particle properties) the
resulting cake resistance is defined as:



and so equation (21) becomes
(26)
(27)
Given that V is the volume of filtrate (liquid) passed in a time t
and dV/dt is the instantaneous volumetric flow rate of filtrate at
time t, then:
Particle size and range of liquid flow and properties commonly
used in industry give rise to laminar flow and so the second term
(turbulent) vanishes.

Therefore, for a given slurry (with fixed particle properties) the
resulting cake resistance is defined as:



(29)
Each unit volume of filtrate is assumed to deposit a certain mass
of particles, which form a certain volume of cake.
This is expressed as , the volume of cake formed by the
passage of unit volume of filtrate.



and equation (27) becomes



|
(30)
(31)
Constant Rate Filtration
If the filtration rate dV/dt is constant, the pressure drop across
the filter cake will increase in direct proportion to the volume of
filtrate passed V.

Constant Pressure Drop Filter
If (-p) is constant the,



or integrating equation (31)



where

(32)
(33)
6.2.3. Including the Resistance of Filter Medium
Considering operation at constant pressure drop, which is the
most common case,




6.2.4. Washing the Cake
SELF STUDY!!!

(34)
6.2.5. Compressible Cake
In practice many materials give rise to compressible filter cakes.
In compressible cake r
c
increases with (-p).
Change in r
c
is due mainly to the effect on the cake voidage.
The force on the particles causes the particle packing to become
more dense, i.e. cake voidage decreases.
For soft particles size or shape may change, adding to the
increase in cake resistance.



Consider an element of the filter cake of thickness dL across
which the pressure drop is dp. Applying Carman-Kozeny
equation for flow through this element:




Where r
c
is the resistance of this element of the cake. For a
compressible cake, r
c
is a function of the pressure difference
between the upstream surface of the cake and the element (i.e.
referring to figure 6.3).




And equation (35) becomes


Relationship between r
c
and p
s
must be found from laboratory
experiments before equation (36) can be used in design.
(35)
(36)
(37)
(38)
EXAMPLE
A leaf filter has an area of 0.5 m
2
and operates at a constant pressure
drop of 500 kPa. The following test results were obtained for a slurry
in water which gave rise to a filter cake regarded as incompressible:





Calculate:
a) The time needed to collect 0.8 m
3
of filtrate at a constant pressure
drop of 700 kPa;
b) The time required to wash the resulting cake with 0.3 m
3
of water at
a pressure drop of 400 kPa.
Volume of filtrate collected (m
3
) 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Time (s) 140 360 660 1040 1500
SOLUTION
For constant pressure drop:



Plot of t/V versus V yields a straight line.

Gradient:


Y interception:
eq
c c
V
p A
r
V
p A
r
V
t
) ( ) ( 2
2 2
A
+
A
=
| |
) ( 2
2
p A
r
c
A
|
eq
c
V
p A
r
) (
2
A
|
SOLUTION cont...
Using the given data:





V (m
3
) 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
t/V (m
3
/s) 1400 1800 2200 2600 3000
Y
X
SOLUTION cont...
From the plot:

Gradient: = 4000


Y interception: = 1000

Remembering that:
A = 0.5 m
2
(-p) = 500 x 10
3
Pa
) ( 2
2
p A
r
c
A
|
eq
c
V
p A
r
) (
2
A
|
SOLUTION cont...
Therefore:





and

2 9
3 2
2
/ 10 1
4000
) 10 500 ( ) 5 . 0 ( 2
4000
) ( 2
m s Pa r
r
p A
r
c
c
c
=
=

=
A
|
|
|
3
3 2
9
2
125 . 0
1000
) 10 500 ( ) 5 . 0 (
10 1
1000
) (
m V
V
V
p A
r
eq
eq
eq
c
=
=

=
A
|
SOLUTION cont...
a)
min) 40 ( 2400
) 125 . 0 (
) 10 700 ( ) 5 . 0 (
10 1
) 8 . 0 (
) 10 700 ( ) 5 . 0 ( 2
10 1
) 8 . 0 (
) ( ) ( 2
3 2
9
3 2
9
2 2
s t
t
V
p A
r
V
p A
r
V
t
eq
c c
=

=
A
+
A
=
| |
SOLUTION cont...
b) Filtration rate at the end of the filtration period is:







Assuming the wash water has same physical properties as the filtrate,
and noting that:
s m
dt
dV
dt
dV
V V r
A p
dt
dV
A
eq c
/ 10 89 . 1
) 125 . 0 8 . 0 )( 10 1 (
) 5 . 0 )( 10 700 (
) 5 . 0 (
1
) (
) ( 1
3 4
9
3

=
+

=
+
A
=
|
) ( p
dt
dV
A o
SOLUTION cont...
Therefore;




Finally;
s m / 10 08 . 1
10 700
10 400
10 89 . 1 kPa) 400 (at r wash wate of rate Flow
3 4
3
3
4

=
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
min) 3 . 46 ( 2778
10 08 . 1
3 . 0
4
s
dt
dV
V
t =

= =

CLASS EXERCISE
A leaf filter has an area of 2 m
2
operates at a constant pressure drop of
250 kPa. The following results were obtained during a test with an
incompressible cake:





Calculate:
a) The time required to collect 1200 litre of filtrate at a constant
pressure drop of 400 kPa;
b) The time required to wash the resulting cake with 500 litre of water
(assume same properties as the filtrate) at a pressure drop of 200
kPa.
Volume of filtrate collected (litre) 280 430 540 680 800
Time (min) 10 20 30 45 60
SOLUTION
For constant pressure drop:



Plot of t/V versus V yields a straight line.

Gradient:


Y interception:
eq
c c
V
p A
r
V
p A
r
V
t
) ( ) ( 2
2 2
A
+
A
=
| |
) ( 2
2
p A
r
c
A
|
eq
c
V
p A
r
) (
2
A
|
SOLUTION cont...
Using the given data:





V (m
3
) 0.28 0.43 0.54 0.68 0.8
t/V (m
3
/s) 2142.86 2790.7 3333.33 3970.59 4500
Y
X
SOLUTION cont...
From the plot:

Gradient: = 4566


Y interception: = 854.1

Remembering that:
A = 2 m
2
(-p) = 250 x 10
3
Pa
) ( 2
2
p A
r
c
A
|
eq
c
V
p A
r
) (
2
A
|
SOLUTION cont...
Therefore:





and

2 9
3 2
2
/ 10 132 . 9
4566
) 10 250 ( ) 2 ( 2
4566
) ( 2
m s Pa r
r
p A
r
c
c
c
=
=

=
A
|
|
|
3
3 2
9
2
094 . 0
1 . 854
) 10 250 ( ) 2 (
10 132 . 9
1 . 854
) (
m V
V
V
p A
r
eq
eq
eq
c
=
=

=
A
|
SOLUTION cont...
a)
min) 2 . 79 ( 2 . 4753
) 094 . 0 (
) 10 400 ( ) 2 (
10 132 . 9
) 2 . 1 (
) 10 400 ( ) 2 ( 2
10 132 . 9
) 2 . 1 (
) ( ) ( 2
3 2
9
3 2
9
2 2
s t
t
V
p A
r
V
p A
r
V
t
eq
c c
=

=
A
+
A
=
| |
SOLUTION cont...
b) Filtration rate at the end of the filtration period is:







Assuming the wash water has same physical properties as the filtrate,
and noting that:
s m
dt
dV
dt
dV
V V r
A p
dt
dV
A
eq c
/ 10 354 . 1
) 094 . 0 2 . 1 )( 10 132 . 9 (
) 2 )( 10 400 (
) 2 (
1
) (
) ( 1
3 4
9
3

=
+

=
+
A
=
|
) ( p
dt
dV
A o
SOLUTION cont...
Therefore;




Finally;
s m / 10 77 . 6
10 400
10 200
10 354 . 1 kPa) 200 (at r wash wate of rate Flow
3 5
3
3
4

=
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
min) 1 . 123 ( 52 . 7385
10 77 . 6
5 . 0
5
s
dt
dV
V
t =

= =

HOMEWORK (EXERCISE 6.9)
A leaf filter has an area of 1.73 m
2
, operates at a constant pressure
drop of 300 kPa and produces the following results during a test on
filtration of a slurry:





a) Calculate the time needed to collect 1 m
3
of filtrate during filtration
of the same slurry at a constant pressure drop of 400 kPa.
b) Calculate the time required to wash the resulting filter cake with 0.8
m3 of water at a constant pressure drop of 250 kPa.

(Assume the cake is incompressible and that the flow properties of the
filtrate are the same as those of the wash solution)
Volume of filtrate collected (m
3
) 0.19 0.31 0.41 0.49 0.56 0.63
Time (s) 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800