ASSIGNMENT TITLE: CONSIDERING AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS,

EXPLAIN THE PHYSIO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES EXPLOITED IN UNIT

OPERATIONS
Taking four main unit operations, the physio-chemical operations that are used in each are explained
as follows. The highlighted portions are the properties that are used to carry out these operations.
 

 Filtration: Filtration is used to separate particles and fluid in a suspension, where the fluid can
be a liquid, a gas or a supercritical fluid. Depending on the application, either one or both of the
components may be isolated. Particle size distribution and suspension are the properties used
here.
 Centrifugation: Centrifugation is the technique which involves the application of centrifugal
force to separate particles from a solution according to their size, shape, density, viscosity of the
medium and rotor speed. Not only is this process used to separate two miscible substances, but
also to analyze the hydrodynamic properties of macromolecules. 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
 Sedimentation: Sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of
the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their
motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due
to gravity, centrifugal acceleration, or electromagnetism. Sedimentation may pertain to
objects of various sizes, ranging from large rocks in flowing water, to suspensions of dust and
pollen particles, to cellular suspensions, to solutions of single molecules such
as proteins and peptides. Even small molecules supply a sufficiently strong force to produce
significant sedimentation.
 Flocculation: Flocculation is a process in which colloids come out of suspension in the form
of floc or flake, either spontaneously or due to the addition of a clarifying agent. The action
differs from precipitation in that, prior to flocculation, colloids are merely suspended in a liquid
and not actually dissolved in a solution. In the flocculated system, there is no formation of a
cake, since all the flocs are in the suspension.

Reference:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downstream_processing