The origin ofhigh hydraulic resistance for filter cakes ofdef ormable particles: cell-bed deformation or surface-layer effect?

Abstract

This study reports a numerical approach for modeling the hydraulic resistance ofa filter cake ofdef ormable cells. First, a mechanical and osmotic model that describes the volume fraction ofsolids in a bed ofyeast cells as a function ofthe compressive pressure it experiences is presented. The effects ofpressure on the compressibility ofyeast cells beds were further investigated both by filtration experiments and by centrifugal experiments based on the multiple speed equilibrium sediment height technique. When comparing the latter measurements with compression model calculations, we observed that the method based on centrifugal experiments suffers from rapid relaxation of the compressed bed. Concerning the filtration experiments, specific resistance ofwell-defined bed ofcells were calculated by a combination of the compression model with a formulation for hydraulic resistivity developed using the Lattice Boltzmann method. We further explain the experimental values observed for the hydraulic resistance ofcell beds, assuming that the first layer ofcells in contact with the membrane partially blocks the membrane area open to flow. In such a case, the blocked area seems to be a constant fraction of the normal cell–cell contact area.