15 Examples of Decantation - encyclopedia

Video: decantation process of separating mixtures through materials

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Examples of decantation
Other techniques for separating mixtures

The decantation is a physical procedure in which a solid or liquid is separated provided with greater densityOn the other hand, having a lower density occupies the upper part of the heterogeneous mixture.

It is a process widely used in laboratories and various industrial settings, and should not be confused with sedimentation, which is the separation of solid waste in a suspension by effect of the gravity in the time.

For the decantation, the mixture must settle long enough for the denser substance to descend and can be extracted through a funnel.

There are two ways in which it can be carried out, according to the status of the participating substances:

Solid-liquid decantation
Liquid-liquid decantation

See also: Examples of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixtures

Examples of decantation

Sewage treatment. Dirty waters tend to be denser than clean ones, as they contain particles and other suspended substances, so it is possible to carry out a first filtering process through successive decantation procedures.
Oil and water separation. In oil extraction processes, it is often necessary to resort to decantation to separate lipids water or solid waste product of crushing. This is usually done through a separatory funnel.
Biodiesel and glycerin separation. Since the latter is a by-product of obtaining fuel from vegetable or animal fats and oils, a settling process is often required to separate them, since glycerin is much denser.
Water purification. In the food industry, water is usually made drinkable through settling stages, which allow the extraction of clays and suspended materials that could influence the preparation of food.
Decantation of wine. To separate the liquor from the residues that may have formed in the bottle, the experts recommend a decantation process, which allows the sediment to be extracted and oxygenate the wine. This is usual in long-maturing wines.
Preparation of Mexican pozol. In the making of this fermented drink of corn and cocoa, the already cooked mixture is usually decanted to separate the solid or semi-solid residues of the drink as such.
Obtaining vinegars. During the refining processes of vinegar of vegetable origin, decanting is often used to separate it from the heavier oils obtained during the vinegar process. raw material.
Oil refining. Throughout the refining of oil, various types of hydrocarbons useful, both in the form of gas and liquid, and these are separated from the rest through decantation, allowing the lightest ones to be extracted and to continue refining the densest compounds.
Maritime oil extraction. It is also the case, when extracting oil from the seabed, from the mixture of hydrocarbon with seawater, a condition that is remedied through the decantation of the hydrocarbon, much denser than water. The first is stored and the second is returned to the sea.
In the preparation of sauces. Decanting is often used to separate substances from others throughout culinary preparation, especially to extract the fats and others liquids unwanted from some usable solution, such as sauces.
Juice making. For example, the juice of tamarind or other fibrous fruits, in which the liquid is separated from the pulp or dense pulp from the fiber, through simple decantation and sedimentation mechanisms.
Ashes in a volcanic eruption. Although the ashes are very light and remain suspended for a time in the air, little by little the effect of gravity and density will make them settle, leaving the air clean again.
Shake it before using. Many products have this recommendation on their packaging: it is because the standing time has been able to separate by density (or sedimentation) its components, and only by shaking it can it recover its homogeneity.
Mercury recovery in aquifer pollution. Many accidents or practices (such as illegal mining) can release mercury into water from rivers and lakes, generating a lot environmental damage. In these cases, decantation can be used to extract the mercury from portions of water and try to reverse the damage.
The cream of the milk. By natural decantation, the milk at rest separates the cream or curd (lipid content), a dense yellowish substance, from the rest of the milk, to the point of being able to be removed mechanically.