Article
Article
Mechanical separation techniques
Article By:
Miller, Shelby A. Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.412100
A group of laboratory and production operations whereby the components of a polyphase mixture are separated by mechanical methods into two or more fractions of different mechanical characteristics. The separated fractions may be homogeneous or heterogeneous, particulate or nonparticulate. Mechanical separations are differentiated from two other classes of separations of major importance: those that depend on separation at the molecular level on the basis of thermodynamic or physicochemical properties and by means of such mass-transfer processes as evaporation, dissolution, precipitation, absorption, and intraphase or interphase diffusion; and those that depend on chemical reaction of a component and subsequent separation of the product by mass-transfer or mechanical methods. See also: Chemical separation techniques; Unit operations
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
