Three different case histories are presented illustrating different scenarios of the impact of particles, particle size distribution (PSD) and cake formation on the separation technology operations. The first is a specialty chemical application for a continuous rotary pressure filter where the particles changed from lab scale to production scale. The second case is a clarification application where the system was running successfully for over one-year but inexplicitly, the performance changed drastically and the filter media began plugging very quickly during the cycle. The final application looks at lab testing and pilot scale testing where the cake formation changed resulting is a unique operating technique.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are fictional characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Process engineers who live in the real-world can learn many things from the two of them for solving process filtration problems. One example that Holmes proves time and again is there is no benefit to “jumping to conclusions, https://perlmutterunfiltered.com/?s=jumping+to+conclusions.” With careful analysis and taking a creative and “non-conventional approach” by looking at what is behind the process data and the operating parameters, the optimum solution will be realize

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