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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)

GATE 2015 Cut-off Marks

BRANCH GENERAL SC/ST/PD OBC(Non-Creamy) Total
Appeared
Chemical 27.52 18.34 24.77 15874
Engineering

CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION 03-03

2. PROPERTIES OF PARTICULATE SOLIDS .04-19

3. STORAGE OF SOLIDS AND CONVEYING.. 20-25

4. MECHANICAL SEPARATION .. 26-31

5. SIZE REDUCTION LAWS .. 32-38

6. SIZE REDUCTION EQUIPMENTS ... 39-45

7. SIZE SEPARATION . 46-57

8. FILTRATION 58-73

9. FLUIDISATION ..................................................................... 74-76

10. PRACTICE SET with Solution 77-87

11. GATE BASED QUESTIONS with Solution . 88-99

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)

CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

Chemical and its related company have first rank among all manufacturing industries both in capital

assets and national economy.

Chemical industries provide material for preparation of drugs, fertilizer, textile, paints and refinery

operation.

Chemical industry differs from many industries because it is not assembly industry. But in this industry

raw material convert into useful product through series of unit operation and unit process.

Mechanical Physical Separation Process:

The separation of mixture into their component is frequently necessary in chemical engineering practice.

Various separation methods are classified in following two categories:

1. Mechanical Separation

(a) Applicable to heterogeneous mixture not to homogeneous solution.

(b) Technique is based on physical properties such as size, shape or composition & density.

* Size Affects: Surface area per unit volume, rate of settling of particle in a fluid.

* Shape: Regular (example spherical, cubical, Irregular (example piece of broken glass)

* Composition: It determines density.

2. Molecular Separation: Involve phase change or transfer of material from one phase to another. Example

is distillation, etc.

The mechanical methods of separation may be grouped into two general class:

(a) Those whose mechanism is controlled by fluid mechanics such as classification, sedimentation etc.

(b) Those whose mechanism is not described by fluid mechanics such as screening.

(c) Mechanical processes include solids transportation, crushing and pulverization, screening and sieving

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)

CHAPTER-2
PROPERTIES OF PARTICULATE SOLID

Characterization of solids particles:

Individual solid particles are characterized by their size, shape and density. Particles of homogeneous solids

have the same density but particles of a composite solid line have various density. Size and shapes are easily

specified for regular particles, but for irregular particles, the size is defined in terms of the size of an

equivalent sphere.

1. Particle Shape:

The shape of a particle is expressed in terms of sphericity, s . (which is independent of particle size)

Surface to volume ratio of sphere of D eq

Sphericity s
Surface to volume ratio of particle

If, SP = Surface area of one particle

VP = Volume of one particle

D eq = Equivalent dia of one particle

3
Volume of a sphere VP DP VP 6 6
6 = or
SP DP Deq
Surface area of sphere SP DP2

6 / Deq 6VP
So, s
S P / VP Deq S P

s 1 for sphere and between 0 and 1 for all other particle.

For crushed particles, S is between 0.6 and 0.8. For particles rounded by abrasion, s = 0.95
SP is found from adsorption measurements or from pressure drop in a bed of particles
Equivalent diameter of particle: Diameter of that sphere having equal volume as that of the particle.
Nominal diameter of particle: for fine granular particles, it is difficult to determine exact volume and
surface area, so diameter is taken based upon screen analysis and microscopic examination.

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)
2. Particle Size: In general diameter may be specified for any equi-dimensional particle. Particle that are not

equi-dimensional, that is, that are longer in one direction than in other are sometimes characterized by the

second longest major dimension.

Particle size is expressed in different units depending upon the size range involved.
Particles Particle size
Coarse particles Inches, mm
Fines In terms of screen size
Very fine m, nm
Ultrafine Surface area per unit mass (m2/g)
2. Practical size analysis: It determines the size range and / or average, or mean size of the particles in a

powder or liquid sample

DP1 DP2 DP3 ....DN

Dp
N

3. Specific surface area (SSA): It is defined as surface area per unit mass. The SI units are m2/kg: It is

important for the design of chemical processes that involve surface reaction.

Total surface area of all fraction

Sm
Total mass of mixture

It is defined by surface area divided by mass (m2 /kg) or surface area divided by volume A N S p

4. Number of particles in the sample: If a sample having particles of uniform dia, then number of particles

in that sample can be defined as:

m
N
pV p

where , m = Total mass of the sample

p Density of particle

Vp Volume of one particle

m
Total volume of one particle.
p

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)
5. Total Surface Area of the Particle (A): It can be defined as the product of number of particles and

surface area of one particle.

A = NSp

m 6 VP
A
P VP s D P

6m
A
s P D P

6. Specific Surface of Mixture: If the particle density and sphericity s are known the the specific

surface area of the mixture can be defined as:

6 x1 6 x2 6 x3
AW
s p D p1 s p D p2 s p D p3
n
6 x
AW
s p
Di
i 1 pi

where, xi Mass fraction in a given increment

n Number of increments

D Pi Average particle diameters taken as arithmetic average of smallest and largest particle dia in

increments.

(7) Average Particle Size: Average particle size for a mixture of particles is defined in several different

ways:

(i) Volume Surface Mean Diameter (Ds )

6 1
Ds
s P A w n
xi
D
i 1 P
i

It is defined as the diameter of sphere that has same volume/surface area ratio as a particle of interest.

(ii) Mass Mean Diameter (Dw )

n
D w xi D Pi
i 1

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)
Total volume of the sample
(iii) Average Volume of a Particle =
No. of particles in the mixture

(iv) Volume Mean Diameter:

1
1 3
DV n
x
3i
i 1 D Pi

(v) Arithmetic mean diameter ( DN ) :

n
Ni DPi
i 1
DN
NT

where, NT is the number of particles in entire sample.

(vi) Number of Particle in the Mixture

n
1 xi 1
Nw
aP
D
i 1
3

aP D3V
Pi

where a = Volume shape factor

: Nw is the total population in one unit mass of sample, obtained by summation over all fractions

Also VP a DP3

(vii) Sauter Mean Diameter: [S.M.D.]

It is a common measure in fluid dynamic as a way to estimate the average particle size.

It is defined as the diameter of a sphere that has the same volume/surface area ratio as the particle of

interest.

Sauter mean diameter is typically defined in terms of

AP
surface dia, d s and

1
6V 3
Volume diameter, dV P

where, A P and VP are the surface area and volume of particle.

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)

S.M.D. for a given particle is

d V3
S.D. = D[3, 2] = d32
d s2

If actual surface area A P and volume VP of the particle are known then equation simplifies as:
3 3
4 d 32 d 32

VP 3 2
2 d 32
2
2
AP d d 6
4 32 3 32
2 2

VP
d32 6
AP

S.M.D. is especially important in calculation where the active surface area is important. Such area

included catalysis and application in fuel combustion.

Sieving & Screening:

Sieving or screening is a method of separating a mixture of particle into two or more size fraction. The

over size materials are trapped above the screen while under size material can pass through the screen.

Screen can be used in stack to divide sample into various size fractions and hence determine particle size

distribution.

Screen are usually used for large particle sized material i.e., greater than approximately. 50 m (0.050

mm).

Two scale that are used to classify particle size are U.S. Sieve series and Taylors equivalent.

Taylors equivalent screen sometimes called Taylors standard Sieve Series.

In Tyler standard screen series
* Area of openings in any one screen in series is exactly twice that of the openings in next smaller screen.

* Ratio of actual mesh dimensions in any screen to that of next smaller screen is 2.

Mesh number of system is a measure of how many opening these are per linear inch in a screen.

Material that pass through the screen is called the minus () material or undersize and the material that is

retained on the screen is called (+) plus material or the over size.

A screen can be called an open container usually cylindrical with uniformly spaced opening at the base.

It is normally made of wire mesh cloth, the wire diameter and the interspacing between wire being

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)
accurately specified. The opening are commonly square. The size of the square opening is called the

aperture size of screen.

Screen are usually designated by their mesh no. The mesh number indicate the no. of aperture per linear

length.

For example a screen having 10 square opening per cm may called a 10 mesh screen and in that case

aperture size of screen will be (0.1 cm wire dia). Clearly higher the mesh no. smaller will be the size of

aperture.

For example a 200 mesh screen will have a very small aperture width, whereas a 20 mesh screen will

have a large aperture size.

Standard screens have opening from 4inch to 400 mesh size

Cut diameter = Mesh opening of screen

The ratio of area of opening of the up:

A1 2

A2 1

The ratio of dimensions of the up:

D1 2

D2 1

Example:

DPn1 4 2

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)
DPn 4

D Pn 1 4 2 2

D Pn 4 1

Screen Analysis
Mixture of particles having various sizes and densities is sorted into fractions, each of constant density and
approx constant size. Information from such a particle size analysis is tabulated by two warps:
1. Differential Analysis:

2. Cumulative Analysis:

Differential Analysis: When particle size analysis is tabulated to show mass fraction in each size increment

as a function of the average particle size in the increment. An analysis tabulated in this way is called a

differential analysis.

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)

Cumulative Screen Analysis: It obtained adding consequently the indivisual increments starting with that

containing the smallest particle and plotted the cumulative sum aginst the maximum particle dia in the

increments.

Notation (150/200) or (150 + 200) means that particles pass through the 150 Mesh screen but are

retained on the 200 Mesh screen.

Note: When cumulative analysis is used, the assumption that all particles in a single fraction are equal in size is
not needed.

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)

IMPORTANT KEY TO REMEMBER

Surface to volume surface to volume ratio of sphere Deq

1. Sphericity s
Surface to volume ratio of particle

6 / Dp
s
S p / Vp

2. Specific surface of mixture

Total surface area of all fraction
Sm
Total mass of mixture

3. Total surface Area of particle

6m
A
s p Dp

4. Specific surface Area of mixture:

n
6 xi
Aw
s p
D
i 1 pi

1
5. Volume surface mean Diameter ( D s ) n
xi
D
i 1

pi

n
6. Mass mean Diameter ( D w ) xi D pi
i 1

1
7. Volume mean diameter D v 1/ 3
xi
n

i 1 D pi
8. The ratio of dimensions of the upper screen to the next screen is

D1 2

D2 1

9. The ratio of area of the upper screen to the next screen is:

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)
A1 2

A2 1

NUMERICAL

1. The screen analysis shown below applies to a sample of crushed quartz. The density of the particles

is 0.00265 gm/mm3 , and the shape factors are a = 2 and s 0.571. For the material between 4-mesh

and 200 mesh in particle size. Calculate.

(a) The specific surface area in mm2 /gm, Aw :

(b) No. of particles/gm, Nw ;

(c) Volume surface mean diameter, Ds ;

(d) Mass mean diameter, D w ;

(e) Volume mean diameter, Dv ;

(f ) Number of particles for the 150/200 mesh increment, Ni ;

(g) What fraction of the total number of particles are in the 150/200-mesh increment?

Mesh Screen Mass fraction Average Cumulative xi D 3Pi xi

D Pi D 3Pi
No. Opening retained, xi particle screen

DPi , mm diameter, analysis (over

(Total mass = 1
D Pi , mm size)
gm)
( x1 x2 )

4 4.699 0.0000 0.0000

6 3.367 0.0251 4.013 0.0251 0.0063 64.6260 0.00036

8 2.362 0.1250 2.845 0.1501 0.0439 23.0275 0.0054

10 1.651 0.3207 2.007 0.4708 0.1598 8.0843 0.0396

14 1.158 0.2570 1.409 0.7278 0.1824 2.7973 0.0918

20 0.1333 0.1590 1.001 0.8868 0.1588 1.0030 0.158

28 0.289 0.0538 0.711 0.9406 0.0757 0.3594 0.149

35 0.417 0.0210 0.503 0.9616 0.0417 0.1273 0.165

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48 0.295 0.0102 0.356 0.9718 0.0286 0.0450 0.221

65 0.208 0.0077 0.252 0.9795 0.0306 0.0160 0.48

100 0.147 0.0058 0.178 0.9853 0.0326 0.005639 1.02

150 0.101 0.0041 0.126 0.9894 0.0325 0.002 2.04

200 0.074 0.0031 0.089 0.9925 0.0348 0.0007 4.397

PAN 0.0075 0.037 1.0000 0.2027 0.00005 148.07

xi xi
0.8277 8.727
DPi D3Pi

n
6 xi
(a) Specific surface area, A w
s P
D
i 1 Pi

6 0.8277
3306.8 mm 2 /gm
(0.571) (0.00265) 1 0.0075

(b) Number of particle per gm,

n
1 xi 1 (8.7931)
Nw
aP
D i 1
3

2(0.00265) (1 0.0075)
1671.6 Particles/gm
Pi

(c) Volume surface mean diameter:

1 1
Ds n
1.208 mm
xi
D
0.8277
i 1 Pi

(d) Mass mean diameter, D w xi D Pi 1.677 mm

1 1

(e) Volume mean diameter, D v n 3 1 3

1
x 8.7931 0.4845 mm
3i
i 1 D Pi

150
( f ) The number of particle in the mesh increment:
200
n
1 xi
Ni
aP
D
i 1
3
Pi

1
4.397 830 particles/gm
2(0.00265)

150
(g) Fraction of total number of particles in the mesh increment:
200

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 Chemical Engineering (GATE & PSUs)
830
0.4965 or 49.65%
1671.6

Sample Study Materials

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