Introduction to Solid/Liquid Separation

Dr. Wu Chen, Dr. Wenping Li, Dr. Lin Zhao, Mr. Chris Wallace

Part I - Wednesday, July 24 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - CDT - 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon - EDT
Part II - Friday, July 26 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - CDT - 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon - EDT
Part III - Wednesday, July 31 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - CDT - 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon - EDT
Part IV - Friday, August 2 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - CDT - 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon - EDT

 Full Course (8 hours, .8 CEUs)

$625 AFS Members
$695 Non-members

About the course:

This introductory course covers the whole spectrum of solid/liquid separation and how they are applied. The course will start with a basic understanding of liquid filtration, the role of liquid and particle properties, key principles, and major categories of liquid filtration and separation equipment and their applications.

In Part 1, the focus is on liquid filtration, which involves separating solid particles from a liquid via filtration media. Part 2 focuses on different types of liquid filters, their operation, and their design. Part 3 of the course will focus on liquid filtration media and filter aids. Part 4 will cover solid/liquid separation without a filter medium, such as gravity settling and centrifugal separations. Pretreatment by flocculation to enhance filtration and separation is also covered.

Learning Objectives:

After completing this course, the learner will have an overall understanding of the technology and application of solid-liquid separation, including:

• The whole spectrum of solids-liquid separation
• Liquid filtration principles and equipment
• Filter media
• Field separation principles and equipment
• The impacts of particle and liquid properties on solid-liquid separation
• Pretreatment technologies

The learner will know that there are more options than filtration. This knowledge will allow the learner to approach technical challenges and business opportunities more intelligently.

Outline:

1. Liquid Filtration
   1. Introduction
   2. Particles and Liquid Properties
   3. Principles of Liquid Filtration
   4. Introduction to Liquid Filtration Equipment
2. Liquid Filtration Equipment Operation and Design
   1. Straining Equipment
   2. Cake Filters
   3. Depth Filters
   4. Membrane Filters
3. Liquid Filtration Media and Filter Aids
   1. Where Liquid Filter Media are Used
   2. Types of Filters Media
   3. Selecting Filter Media
   4. Filter Media Tests
   5. Filter Aids
4. Settling, Centrifugation, Coagulation and Flocculation
   1. Introduction to Field Separation
   2. Particles and Liquid Properties Related to Field Separation
   3. Principles of Field Separation
   4. Gravity Separation Equipment and Design
   5. Centrifugal Separation Equipment and Design

Instructors: 

Dr. Wu Chen was an R&D Fellow at Dow and retired in 2023. He has 35 years of industrial experience in solid/liquid separation and air/gas filtration in both technology and market aspects. He also has expertise in carbon capture, water sustainability, project management, process design, and plant startup.

He has been teaching this course for over 30 years. He is the chair of the AFS Education Committee and the coordinator of AFS short courses. He has served as the chair of AFS, the board of directors, conference chairs, local chapter officers, and various committee members. He was awarded the AFS Frank Tiller Award for outstanding technical achievements, the AFS Well Shoemaker Award for leadership and service to the filtration industry, and the Fellow Member Award for sustained significant contributions to filtration technologies and industry.

Dr. Wenping Li is the R&D Director of The Agrilectric Research Company, with over 25 years of industrial filtration and separation experience. Before joining Agrilectric, she worked with Prof. Frank M. Tiller, the father of modern filtration theory, at the University of Houston, from which she gained an in-depth understanding of fundamentals in solid/liquid separations. She has two patents and over 40 publications, including contributions to Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook and Albright Chemical Engineering Handbook. 

Wenping joined AFS in 1999 and served as chair in 2012. She has also been a Board member, chair of the Chapter Affairs Committee, and chair of the Student Poster Competition. She received the AFS Frank Tiller Award in 2014 and the AFS Fellow Award in 2021. She was the Technical Co-Chair for WFC13 in October 2022 and Co-Chair for AFS FiltCon in 2023. 

Dr. Lin Zhao is a Research Scientist at Dow. His responsibility at Dow focuses on solid-liquid separation with eight years of practical industrial experience from lab evaluation, filter design, and pilot trial to production scale implementation. He also has experience in major site startups and operations. Before joining Dow, he obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the Ohio State University in Dr. W.S. Winston Ho’s group with a research focus on advanced membranes for water desalination and gas separation.

Lin joined the American Filtration and Separations Society (AFS) in 2015 and has been actively involved in AFS since then. He has served as the AFS Publication Committee Chair, a member of the AFS Education Committee and AFS Board of Directors, and the AFS annual conference co-chair. He also taught the AFS short course “Introduction to Solid Liquid Separation.”

Mr. Chris Wallace is the VP of Technology and Sr. Corporate VP for Filtration Technology Corporation (FTC) in Houston, TX. Since he joined FTC in 2003, he has been involved in production engineering, application engineering, research and development, and technical sales and marketing of filtration and separation products for liquid/solid, gas/solid, liquid/liquid, and gas/liquid applications. His technical expertise, filtration technology experience, customer-centric approach, and active involvement in industry societies position Chris to lead FTC’s innovation efforts in insightful ways that anticipate and address changing industry demands. He holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University.

Chris is involved in the American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS). He served as chairman of the AFS in 2014-2015. He was President of the SW Chapter in 2010-2012 and was on the Board of Directors in 2016-2018. He served on the board of directors for the 2019-2021 & 2021-2023 terms. He is also vice chair of the education committee, a membership committee member, and co-instructor of the Introduction to Solid/Liquid Filtration course for AFS. He serves on the advisory committee for the SW Chapter.