Technological Institute of the Philippines

College of Engineering and Architecture

Chemical Engineering Department
363 P. Casal, Quiapo, Manila

Unit Operations Laboratory 1

CHE 409

Submitted by:
Vasquez, Ryan Joshua R.

Submitted to:
Engr. Efren Chavez

Date:
May 3, 2019
Centrifugation
Simple centrifuges are used in chemistry,
biology, and biochemistry for isolating and
separating suspensions. They vary widely in speed
and capacity. They usually comprise a rotor
containing two, four, six, or many more numbered
wells within which the samples, contained in
centrifuge tubes, may be placed.
Other centrifuges, the first being the Zippe-
type centrifuge, separate isotopes, and these kinds
of centrifuges are in use in nuclear power and
nuclear weapon programs. Gas centrifuges are used
in uranium enrichment.
The heavier isotope of uranium (uranium-
238) in the uranium hexafluoride gas tends to
concentrate at the walls of the centrifuge as it spins,
while the desired uranium-235 isotope is extracted and concentrated with a scoop selectively
placed inside the centrifuge. It takes many thousands of centrifugations to enrich uranium
enough for use in a nuclear reactor (around 3.5% enrichment), and many thousands more to
enrich it to weapons-grade (above 90% enrichment) for use in nuclear weapons.
Human centrifuges are exceptionally large centrifuges that test the reactions and
tolerance of pilots and astronauts to acceleration above those experienced in the Earth’s gravity.
The US Air Force at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico operates a human
centrifuge. The centrifuge at Holloman AFB is operated by the aerospace physiology department
for the purpose of training and evaluating prospective fighter pilots for high-g flight in Air Force
fighter aircraft.
The use of large centrifuges to simulate a feeling of gravity has been proposed for future
long-duration space missions. Exposure to this simulated gravity would prevent or reduce the
bone decalcification and muscle atrophy that affect individuals exposed to long periods of
freefall.
The first centrifuges used for human research were used by Erasmus Darwin, the
grandfather of Charles Darwin. The first large scale human centrifuge designed for Aeronautical
training was created in Germany in 1933.
Geotechnical centrifuge modeling is used for physical testing of models involving soils.
Centrifuge acceleration is applied to scale models to scale the gravitational acceleration and
enable prototype scale stresses to be obtained in scale models. Problems such as building and
bridge foundations, earth dams, tunnels, and slope stability, including effects such as blast
loading and earthquake shaking.
 Centrifuges with a batch weight of up to 2,200 kg per charge are used in the sugar
industry to separate the sugar crystals from the mother liquor.
Standalone centrifuges for drying (hand-washed) clothes – usually with a water outlet.
Centrifuges are used in the attraction Mission: SPACE, located at Epcot in Walt Disney
World, which propels riders using a combination of a centrifuge and a motion simulator to
simulate the feeling of going into space.
In soil mechanics, centrifuges utilize centrifugal acceleration to match soil stresses in a
scale model to those found in reality.
Large industrial centrifuges are commonly used in water and wastewater treatment to dry
sludges. The resulting dry product is often termed cake, and the water leaving a centrifuge after
most of the solids have been removed is called centrate.
Large industrial centrifuges are also used in the oil industry to remove solids from the
drilling fluid.
Disc-stack centrifuges used by some companies in Oil Sands industry to separate small
amounts of water and solids from bitumen.
Centrifuges are used to separate cream (remove fat) from milk.
Sedimentation
Sedimentation is the process of allowing particles in suspension in water to settle out of the
suspension under
the effect of
gravity. The
particles that
settle out from
the suspension
become
sediment, and in
water treatment
is known as
sludge. When a
thick layer of
sediment
continues to
settle, this is
known as
consolidation. When consolidation of sediment, or sludge, is assisted by mechanical means then
this is known as thickening.

In water treatment sedimentation might be used to reduce the concentration of particles in

suspension before the application of coagulation, to reduce the amount of coagulating chemicals
needed, or after coagulation and, possibly, flocculation. When sedimentation is applied after
coagulation, its purpose is usually to reduce the concentration of solids in suspension so that the
subsequent filtration can function most effectively.

Sedimentation is one of several methods for application prior to filtration: other options include
dissolved air flotation and some methods of filtration. Generically, such solids-liquid separation
processes are sometimes referred to as clarification processes.

There is a variety of methods for applying sedimentation and include: horizontal flow, radial
flow, inclined plate, ballasted floc and floc blanket sedimentation.
 Light Radiation

Electromagnetic spectrum, the entire distribution of electromagnetic radiation according

to frequency or wavelength. Although all electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light in a
vacuum, they do so at a wide range of frequencies, wavelengths, and photon energies. The
electromagnetic spectrum comprises the span of all electromagnetic radiation and consists of
many subranges, commonly referred to as portions, such as visible light or ultraviolet radiation.
The various portions bear different names based on differences in behaviour in the emission,
transmission, and absorption of the corresponding waves and also based on their different
practical applications. There are no precise accepted boundaries between any of
these contiguous portions, so the ranges tend to overlap.
The entire electromagnetic spectrum, from the lowest to the highest frequency (longest to
shortest wavelength), includes all radio waves (e.g.,
commercial radio and television, microwaves, radar), infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet
radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays. Nearly all frequencies and wavelengths of electromagnetic
radiation can be used for spectroscopy.
Measuring electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation can be expressed in terms of energy, wavelength, or frequency.
Frequency is measured in cycles per second, or Hertz. Wavelength is measured in meters.
Energy is measured in electron volts. Each of these three quantities for describing EM radiation
are related to each other in a precise mathematical way.
Is a radio wave the same as a gamma ray?
Are radio waves completely different physical objects than gamma-rays? They are produced in
different processes and are detected in different ways, but they are not fundamentally different.
Radio waves, gamma-rays, visible light, and all the other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum
are electromagnetic radiation.
Electromagnetic radiation can be described in terms of a stream of mass-less particles,
called photons, each traveling in a wave-like pattern at the speed of light. Each photon contains a
certain amount of energy. The different types of radiation are defined by the the amount of
energy found in the photons. Radio waves have photons with low energies, microwave photons
have a little more energy than radio waves, infrared photons have still more, then visible,
ultraviolet, X-rays, and, the most energetic of all, gamma-rays.