New design for PLF in Bleaching process of oil

[Ali AA]

Hello fellow engineers,
We are working in a vegetable oil refinery plant. There is a task to convert our pressure leaf filters (PLF) in bleaching process to continuous process. To this day, when we want to cahnge from PLF-1 to PLF-2 we need to wait 10 minutes for filling PLF-2, additional 30 minutes to filter create filter cake for efficient filtration. For this problem we want to apply a new design. The gist of the process is to fill PLF-2 and create filter cake simultanously, while PLF-1 keeps working by opening entry valve 80/20 (PLF1/PLF2). Therefore, we purpose the exit line of PLF-2 should go back to PLF-1 as we do not want to not fully filtrated oil goes to the next step. For make it more understandable for you. I will add the current design and the purposed one.
I would like to learn your opinion about the given topic, and whether it can be applied.
Thank you in advance.

https://files.engineering.com/getfi...c0b-4d00-bc8d-a910d16991e0&file=Bleaching.PNG

 

[pierreick]

Hi,
Consider this thread to support your work:

https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=200397

Pierre

 

[LittleInch]

Yes it can be applied, but you need to introduce some form of pressure drop across the inlet valve into PLF1 in order to drive fluid flow through PL2 back into PLF1 as you are starting from the same pressure point. Otherwise there would be no flow.

Alternatively you can introduce a small pumped slip stream (some sort of PD pump sized at 20% of flow) at 20% of flow which does the same thing and switch the pump from one tank to the other by simple valves. Take the inlet from upstream the isolation valve and then pump into downstream the islation valve and then route the bypass line like you've shown.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[pierreick]

Hi,
You may want to talk to these guys, they have a lot of experience:

https://bhs-filtration.com/technical-articles/#1

https://dutchfiltration.com/filtration-of-completion-fluids/

Pierre