Patent AU-591549-B2 (AU)
Title: Process for separating solid particles and/or liquid from a suspension, and wash column
Inventor: HENRIQUEZ PERCY COHEN
IPC: B01D11/02
Filed: 1987-02-23
Granted: 1989-12-07
Abstract: The invention is directed to a process for separating solid particles and/or liquid from a liquid suspension and/or purifying or leaching solid particles in a column containing a compacted bed, which comprises supplying a liquid suspension to said column whilst withdrawing liquid phase therefrom through a filter construction, disintegrating the washed compacted bed and removing the product of this disintegration, the washfront in the compacted bed being moved between two extreme limits in the compacted bed and to a wash column for use in this process.The process of the invention is characterized by introducing said liquid suspension in the column and adjusting the pressure below a maximum permissible pressure in the column, extracting an amount of liquid therefrom through said filter construction leaving a pseudo-liquid residue of solid particles, said residue accumulating and by so accumulating adopting a translatory movement in the axial direction of the column, and thereby passing through disintegration means in the column.The column of the invention comprises:- enclosure means enclosing a space of cylindrical, annular, rectangular or square cross-section- feed-in means for said suspension at one end of said space;- a filter construction across said space, which said suspension has to traverse after being fed into said space, for extracting liquid from said suspension, leaving a pseudo liquid residue plus a mobile accumulating residue of thickened slurry of said solid particles, said mobile residue by the pushing effect of that accumulation adopting a translatory movement in axial direction of said space;- resisting means across the space at a distance of said filter construction, for creating a resistance to said translatory movement of said accumulating thickened slurry of solid particles, so as to transform it into a compacted bed and disintegrating said compacted bed at its passage through said resisting means;- feed-in means for wash fluid at the other side of said resisting means;- feed-out means, equally at the other side of said resisting means, for said wash fluid to flush out the disintegration product of said compacted bed;- feed-out means to feed the liquid extracted from said suspension out of said filter construction and of said cylindrical space said filter construction comprising:- at least one filter;- means for forcing said suspension in a restricted pathway along each of said filters, said pathway having an end opening into said cylindrical space, facilitating the discharge of said mobile accumulating residue of thickened slurry left behind after extracting liquid from said suspension through said filters, said pathway furthermore being of such a shape and dimensions that a dynamic equilibrium is reached with regard to the thickness of said pseudo liquid residue deposited on said filters, at a pressure below a maximally allowed pressure in the column;- means for regulating the pressure at the feed-in of the suspension and at the feed-out of the wash liquid.