Techniological Institute of the Philippines – Manila

ChE 409 S.Y. 2019 – 2020

Experiment 10

Centrifugal Separation of Solid Materials from

Liquid
Abipiel Regina Sales, Shania Angel Montesa, Ageo Justine Angeles, Dietrich Dizon

Abstract—An experiment was done using three different materials – 4 densities – to observe correlations between mass and density and
speed of the centrifugal separation. The material used were soil, calcium carbonate, fine activated carbon and coarse activated carbon.
The average separation times of all materials from water were found to be 23.25 minutes for coarse activated carbon, 28.5 minutes for fine
activated carbon, 6 minutes for soil, and 14.25 minutes for calcium carbonate. Experimental data shows that there is a correlation between
the size and density of a particle and the rate that the particle separates from a heterogeneous mixture, when the only force applied is that
of gravity. The larger the size and the larger the density of the particles, the faster they separate from the mixture.

Index Terms— Centrifugation, Centrifugal Separation, Centrifugal Force, Density, Density Gradient, Sedimentation, Separation

——————————  ——————————

1 INTRODUCTION

C entrifugal separation can be regarded as an extension of

gravity separation, as the settling rates of particles are
increased under the influence of centrifugal force [1]. It can,
2.2.3. Label each container with the materials you have
placed inside.
2.2.4. Place the containers in the centrifuge and spin the
however, be used to separate emulsions which are normally materials at 5-7 rpm for 3 minutes.
stable in a gravity field [2]. 2.2.5. Allow the centrifuge to come to a rest.
Centrifuges are generally costly and complex, but have 2.2.6. Take out the containers and record the results.
great clarifying power and are flexible compared to other
sepators such as the hydrocyclone [3]. Various types of
centrifuge are used industrially, with the solid bown
centrifuge (or decanter) having the widest use in the minerals
industry due to its versatility and ability to discharge the
solids continuously [3].
The objectives of this experiment are to determine the
forces developed in a centrifugal separation and to understand
how a centrifuge separate materials from one another.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Materials
2.1.1. 24 Centrifugal Tubes
2.1.2. Stopwatch
2.1.3. Tabletop Centrifuge Machine
2.1.4. Pipette
2.1.5. Wash Bottle
2.1.6. Test Tube Rack
2.1.7. Spatula
2.1.8. Mortar and Pestle
2.1.9. Activated Carbon
2.1.10. Canola Oil ————————————————
2.1.11. Lemon Oil
 Dietrich Dizon is a student of Technological Institute of the Philippines
2.1.12. Sand
taking up Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.
2.1.13. Soil
 Ageo Justine Angeles is a student of Technological Institute of the
2.1.14. Baking Soda
Philippines taking up Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. He is a
2.1.15. Cassava Starch
former opposite spiker of the TIP-ChE Men's Volleyball Team.
2.2 Procedure
2.2.1. Gather together the materials you wish to separate
out.
2.2.2. Pour each of them into the centrifuge containers.
 Techniological Institute of the Philippines – Manila
ChE 409 S.Y. 2019 – 2020
Experiment 10
3 EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
The experimental setup consists of centrifugal tubes
containing slurry samples. These tubes are to be run on a
centrifuge machine, at 2400 rpm for 3 minutes.
The experiment is done in four trials, and thus 4 sets of
each slurry samples are prepared. Once the first 3 minutes are
up, the tubes are recovered and observed if a separation has
occurred. If it did, the volumes of the liquid and the solid that
accumulated at the bottom of the tube are recorded.
Otherwise, the tubes are returned to the centrifuge machine
and are allowed to spin for another 3 minutes. This continues
until a separation occurs, and the volumes of the liquid and
solid are recorded.
————————————————
 Abipiel Regina Sales is a student of Technological Institute of the
Philippines taking up Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. She is
currently in her fourth year, and had already experience with a waste water
plant as a junior cadet in early 2013. She likes playing mobile games on her
free time.
 Shania Angel Montesa is a fourth year Chemical Engineering student at
the Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila. She was the former
Vice President of the Society of Chemistry and the Environment is the
current treasurer of the Chemical Engineering
Department Student Council.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Centrifugal separators make use of the common principle that an
object whirled about an axis or center point a constant radial
distance from the point is acted on by a force. The object being
whirled about an axis is constantly changing direction and is thus
accelerating, even though the rotational speed is constant. This
centripetal force acts in a direction toward the center of rotation.
If the object being rotated is a cylindrical container, the
contents of fluid and solids exert an equal and opposite force,
called centrifugal force, outward to the walls of the container.
This is the force that causes settling or sedimentation of
particles through a layer of liquid or filtration of a liquid
through a bed of filter cake held inside a perforated rotating
chamber.
In Fig. 10.1a a cylindrical bowl is shown rotating with a
slurry feed of solid particles and liquid being admitted at the
center. The feed enters and is immediately thrown outward to
the walls of the container, as in Fig. 10.1b the liquid and solids
are now acted upon by the vertical gravitational force and the
horizontal centrifugal force. The centrifugal force is usually so
large that the force of gravity may be neglected. The liquid
layer then assumes the equilibrium position with the surface
almost vertical. The particles settle horizontally outward and
press against the vertical bowl wall. In Fig 10.1c two liquids
having different densities are being separated by the
centrifuge. The denser fluid will occupy the outer periphery,
since the centrifugal force on it is greater.
Fig. 10.1. Sketch of centrifugal separation: (a) initial slurry
feed entering, (b) settling of solids from a liquid, (c) separation of
two liquid fractions.
In the first 3 minutes, canola oil, lemon oil, and sand has
immediately separated. This has been concluded due to the
clearness of the liquid that separated from the material. As for
the mud, it had started showing signs of separation, but not
Techniological Institute of the Philippines – Manila
ChE 409 S.Y. 2019 – 2020
Experiment 10
fully. The activated carbon, baking soda, and cassava starch
are still unseparated. The mud had completely separated at
the 6th minute mark. This has been observed to occur all the
four trials done.
At the 12th minute mark, activated carbon had started
showing signs of separation where the solid material is now
visible to be observed to have settled to the bottom, but only
when light is pointed directly into the slurry.
At this time as well, baking soda and cassava starch has
been observed to show clear, and had been deemed fully-
separated.
As for the activated carbon sludges, no visible change is
observed.
The activated carbon sludges started showing clear signs of
separation at times 25 minutes. As activated carbon did not
show clear sign of separation every 3 minutes, it has been
deemed to keep the activated carbon sludges to run in the
centrifuge machine for much longer compared to the other
samples. Activated carbon has been observed to separate at
time 35 minutes.
It has been observed however, that compared to the other
slurries, activated carbon left the separated water discoloured
– instead of being clear it has now a dark, yellowish color.
There has been an observed change in the material volume
once it has fully-separated from the liquid. This has been
hypothesized to be due to the solid material compressing to
the bottom of the centrifuge tube due to the centrifugal force
exerted by the centrifuge machine to separate the material
from the liquid. This has been proven later to be correct when
during the cleaning of the centrifuge tubes post-experiment,
the materials have been observed to be tightly squeezed into
the bottom of the centrifuge tubes.
It has been observed that activated carbon took the longest
out of all the materials to fully-separate from water, all four
trials taking 35 minutes. Despite this, the separated liquid is
still observed to be discoloured, but clear enough to be seen
through. It is surmised that this is due to the activated
carbon’s finer particles that made the liquid impossible to
regain its previous clear white color.
No box and whiskers plot has been done in this
experiment, as all settling times for all trials conducted in this
experiment were all the same.
Thus, all four trials were averaged and the results are
tabulated below:
TABLE 10.1.
Average Settling Times of Materials
increased under the influence of centrifugal force. It can,
however, be used to separate emulsions which are normally
stable in a gravity field.
As observed in this experiment, there is
a correlation between the size and density of a particle and the
rate that the particle separates from a heterogeneous mixture,
when the only force applied is that of gravity. The larger the
size and the larger the density of the particles, the faster they
separate from the mixture.
6 HAZARDS
ACTIVATED CARBON
Keep the substance away from heat/sparks/open flames/hot
surfaces. Avoid smoking while handling the substance. Use
only outdoors or in a ventilated area; avoid breathing in the
dust. If inhaled, remove the victim to fresh air and keep at rest
in a position comfortable for breathing.
If got in contact with skin, wash it thoroughly after
handling. If it got in the eyes, rinse cautiously with water for
several minutes. Remove contact lenses if present and easy to
do. Continue rinsing. If the irritation persists, get medical
advice/attention.
7 WASTE DISPOSAL
Since the main solvent used in the experiment is water, the
disposal of water is done by decanting the water in the drain
while the activated carbon will be filtered and to be returned to
the lab technicians for proper disposal. The all the other materials
save for the soil and sand are either soluble in water or harmless
liquid, and thus can be flushed through the drain. The soil and
sand can be disposed of in the trash bin.
8 CALCULATIONS
No calculations were done in the experiment.
9 APPENDIX
9.1. EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP

Material Average Time, min

Canola Oil 3
Lemon Oil 3
Sand 3
Mud 6
Activated Carbon 35
Baking Soda 12
Cassava Starch 12

5 CONCLUSION
Centrifugal separation can be regarded as an extension of Fig. 10.2. Fully-separated mud, next to a control (water) for
gravity separation, as the settling rates of particles are visual comparison
Techniological Institute of the Philippines – Manila
ChE 409 S.Y. 2019 – 2020
Experiment 10

9.2. RAW DATA GATHERED

Material
Canola
Oil
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial
4
Volum 5 5 5 5
e of
Materi
al (mL)
Volum 5 5 5 5
e of
Water
(mL)
Time Volume of Sediment (mL)
(min)
0 0 0 0 0
3 5 5 5 5
Lemon
Oil

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial

4
Volum 5 5 5 5
e of
Materi
al (mL)
Volum 5 5 5 5
e of
Water
(mL)
Time Volume
(min)
of
Sedime
Fig. 10.3. Activated carbon fully-separated, next to control nt (mL)
(water) for visual comparison 0 0 0 0 0
3 5 5 5 5
Sand

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial

4
Volum 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5
e of
Materi
al (mL)
Volum 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
e of
Water
(mL)
Time Volume
(min)
of
Techniological Institute of the Philippines – Manila
ChE 409 S.Y. 2019 – 2020
Experiment 10
Sedime e of
Water
nt (mL) (mL)
0 0 0 0 0 Time Volume
(min)
3 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 of
Sedime
Mud nt (mL)
0 0 0 0 0
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial
4 3 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.5
Volum 5 5 5 5
e of 6 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5
Materi
al (mL) 9 3.5 3.2 3.4 3.3
Volum 5 5 5 5
e of 12 3.5 3.2 3.3 3.3
Water
(mL) Cassava
Time Volume
(min)
Starch
of
Sedime
nt (mL)
0 0 0 0 0
3 4 4 4 4 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial
4
6 4 4 4 4 Volum 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5
e of
9 4 4 4 4 Materi
al (mL)
12 4 4 4 4 Volum 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5
e of
15 4 4 4 4 Water
(mL)
18 4 4 4 4 Time Volume
(min)
of
Sedime
Activate nt (mL)
d Carbon 0 0 0 0 0
3 3 3 3 3
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial
4 6 3 3 3 3
Volum 4.5 4.5 5 5
e of 9 3 3 3 3
Materi
al (mL) 12 3 3 3 3
Volum 5.5 5.5 5 5
e of
Water
(mL) REFERENCES
Time Volume
(min)
of [1] Taulbee, D. N. and Maroto-Valer, M. Mercedes.
Sedime Centrifugation. Encyclopedia of Separation Science.
nt (mL) Kentucky : University of Kentucky-Center for Applied
0 0 0 0 0 Energy Research, Lexington, KY, USA, 2000, pp. 17-40.
3 4.5 4.5 5 5 [2] VÉKEY, KÁROLY and TELEKES, ANDRÁS. Basics of
6 4.5 4.5 5 5
analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry for medical
professionals. Medical Applications of Mass Spectrometry.
9 4.5 4.5 5 5 s.l. : Elsevier Science, 2008.
12 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 [3] Abraham, E., Gupta, S. and McAfee, E. Bioreactor for
15 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 Scale-Up: Process Control. Mesenchymal Stromal Cells:
Translational Pathways to Clinical Adoption. s.l. : Elsevier,
25 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
2016.
35 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5
Baking
Soda

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial

4
Volum 5 5 5 5
e of
Materi
al (mL)
Volum 5 5 5 5