Separation factor-particle size

Any difference in physical properties of the individual solids can be used as the basis for separation. Differences in density size, shape, color, and electrical and magnetic properties are used in successful commercial separation processes. An important factor in determining the techniques that can be prac tically applied is the particle-size range of the mixture. A convenient guide to the application of different solid-solid separation techniques in relation to the particle-size range is presented in Fig. 19-1, which is a modification of an original illustration by Roberts et al. 

Thus, the length of a settling chamber is inversely proportional to the square of the particle diameter. For example, if it is desirable to separate out particles that are two times smaller than the selected size, then the length of the chamber must be increased by a factor of four. The equation may also be used to determine the smallest particle diameter that can be removed by a chamber of specified dimensions. The following example problem illustrates some of these design principles. 

Equation (14.91) contains only the mass flow ratio /u as a characteristic number of the mechanics of similitude of the mixture. All the other irnpor rant factors, such as particle size, solid density, etc., are contained in the additional pressure-loss coefficient of the solid particles, A, which is determined separately for each material. 

SEC columns have become much more efficient since they were introduced in the late 1950s. The major factor for this has been the ability of synthetic polymer chemists to produce smaller particle sizes of column packing materials. The first sorbents were several 100 /mm wide in diameter (20), whereas modem columns are filled with particles in the range between 3 and 20 /mm, which caused an immense improvement in separation power. The major drawback... 

Since cyclones rely on centrifugal force to separate particulates from the air or gas stream, particle mass is the dominant factor that controls efficiency. For particulates with high densities (e.g., ferrous oxides), cyclones can achieve 99 per cent or better removal efficiencies, regardless of particle size. Lighter particles (e.g., tow or flake) dramatically reduce cyclone efficiency. 

Elutriation differs from sedimentation in that fluid moves vertically upwards and thereby carries with it all particles whose settling velocity by gravity is less than the fluid velocity. In practice, complications are introduced by such factors as the non-uniformity of the fluid velocity across a section of an elutriating tube, the influence of the walls of the tube, and the effect of eddies in the flow. In consequence, any assumption that the separated particle size corresponds to the mean velocity of fluid flow is only approximately true it also requires an infinite time to effect complete separation. This method is predicated on the assumption that Stokes law relating the free-falling velocity of a spherical particle to its density and diameter, and to the density and viscosity of the medium is valid... 

The separation factors and partition coefficients for each column set are shown in Tables I, II, and III. As expected, values of Rf increase with increasing particle size while values of k(j decrease. The two factors are related as follows ... 

Other factors that can influence the separability of components of complex natural mixtures, such as adsorbent particle size and layer thickness, are similar to those used in analytical TLC. Mostly, adsorbents of wide dispersion of particle size — 5 to 40 pm and layers of 0.5 to 1 mm thickness — are used. Although the capacities of layers increase with their thickness, the separation efficiency decreases for thickness above 1.5 mm. Commercially available precoated preparative plates (e.g., silica, alumina, and RP2 plates) with fluorescence indicators and plates with preadsorbent zones are more convenient and commonly used. 

The separation of solids from liquids forms an important part of almost all front-end and back-end operations in hydrometallurgy. This is due to several reasons, including removal of the gangue or unleached fraction from the leached liquor the need for clarified liquors for ion exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation or other appropriate processing and the post-precipitation or post-crystallization recovery of valuable solids. Solid-liquid separation is influenced by many factors such as the concentration of the suspended solids the particle size distribution the composition the strength and clarity of the leach liquor and the methods of precipitation used. Some important points of the common methods of solid-liquid separation have been dealt with in Chapter 2. 

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