Projeto de sedimentadores para a concentração do carbonato de cálcio utilizando ensaios de proveta

Abstract

The sedimentation operation has several industrial applications, being a solid-liquid separation method widely used in various processes, such as in mining and water treatment. The separation mechanism of the sedimentation equipment consists of the action of gravity on the solid particles and is, therefore, a piece of equipment considered simple with a low operating cost. Conventional sedimentation equipments can be sized based on graduated cylinder tests, an experiment that is done in the in the discipline of Laboratory of Chemical Engineering II of the Federal University of Uberlândia. With the objective of sizing sedimentation equipments for the separation of calcium carbonate from a suspension with water and determining which conditions are most favorable for carrying out the practice in the laboratory, sedimentation experiments were conducted using graduated cylinders tests, with the objective of comparing how the design variables, suspension volume (600, 800 and 1000 mL) and solids concentration (15, 20 and 25 g/L), affect the experimental results. To calculate the height and diameter of the equipments, the Kynch methodology was used, which uses data from the sedimentation curve, obtained by capturing images throughout the experiment. From the experimental data obtained, it was possible to find the minimum diameter and height that meet the sedimantation equipment design parameters for each of the chosen variables, and it can be concluded that increasing the concentration increases the height and diameter values required for the equipment. Finally, it was determined that the best condition for carrying out the experiment was a concentration of 20 g/L of calcium carbonate in 800 mL of suspension.