Influence of Solids Concentration on Solid-Liquid Transportation in a Lime Production Plant

Abstract

The main objective of the research is examining the influence of solids concentration on the shear stress and viscosity in fine-dispersive lime slurry collected from a flow installation existing in a selected processing plant producing lime. The analysis presented in the paper deals with slurry of average-size particles the diameter of which equals to 46μm, solid density ranges from 1140 kg/m3to 1330 kg/m3and solids concentration by volume from 10.12% to 23.70%. It has been shown that for solids concentration up to 18.28% by volume, the shear stress increases moderately with increasing concentration. If solids concentration is higher than 18.28% by volume, the shear stress increases exponentially. The determination of the boundary concentration above which the increase in shear stress is exponential is a fundamental guideline in determining the transport parameters of fine-dispersive lime slurry. The expected results of the analysis should be recommended for the transport of slurry with several times higher mass concentration and thus reducing the amount of water while increasing the economic profitability of the applied solution.