Design, fabrication and preliminary testing of a semi- batch stirred tank and semi- batch centrifugal filter for the separation of the produced microbial rennet from its biomass

Date

5-2010

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

College

College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Ma. Cristina V. Mahilum

Co-adviser

Susana M. Mercado

Committee Member

Butch G. Bataller, John Meynard M. Tengco, Marilyn C. Del Barrio

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Abstract

A semi-batch stirred tank and semi-batch centrifugal filter were designed and fabricated. The equipment was tested for the separation of the produced microbial rennet from its biomass. The stirred tank was used to mix the slurry before it is fed to the centrifugal filter. The stirred tank’s capacity was 100 Liters and is powered by 1 hp electric motor. The centrifugal filter was bottom-driven and used filter bag for filtration. The dimensions of the centrifugal filter were 22 inch in height and 22 inch in diameter. The maximum capacity was computed to be 25 Liters per charge per cycle. The centrifugal basket was connected to 1 inch diameter shaft with a truncated cone support at the bottom and cross-shaped braces at the center. The outer casing was tilted to the filtrate outlet. The frames of the equipment were bolted to the floor. The centrifugal filter was powered by a 2 hp electric motor with a rated speed of 1740 revolutions per minute (rpm). However the speed used was reduced to 522 rpm using pulleys. A test run was conducted and the results were compared to the results using a spin dryer in terms of the degree of separation, visual comparison, and the values of the milk clotting enzyme activity of the filtrate. For the degree of separation, the percentage of the filtrate expelled using the centrifugal filter was 83.90% which has a 15.10% difference from the theoretical percentage of the filtrate expelled for a five minute and three seconds of operation. The percentage of the filtrate expelled using the spin dryer was 85.40% which is 1.50% higher than using the centrifugal filter. For the visual comparison, the filtrate obtained from the centrifugal filter was lighter possibly because of cake filtration that occurred on the inside walls of the centrifugal basket. The obtained average MCEA value for using the centrifugal filter and spin dryer was 2181.967 and 2211.967, respectively. The MCEA values of the samples have no significant difference from each other at 95% confidence level. The power requirements per liters of slurry, for a total volume of 100 liters, were 238.72 watts/liter and 240 watts/liter for the centrifugal filter and spin dryer respectively. There were some problems experienced during operation which were the difficulty in loading the slurry to the stirred tank, filtrate collection, loose connection of the chemical hose and the slightly curved floor where the frames were bolted. It is recommended to put in additional support on the frame of the centrifugal filter, create a custom container with a 25 liter capacity that would fit in the filtrate outlet, and determine the optimum conditions for the operation.

Language

English

Location

UPLB College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology

Document Type

Thesis

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