Hi,
I have a question about separate suspensions
Could we separate suspensions by centrifuging them?is it possible?
Question about suspensions
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SciB
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Re: Question about suspensions
Hi,
It would be helpful if next time you posted you gave more information. Suspensions of what?
Centrifugation is a good way to separate some things but not all. I would need to know what it is that you are trying to separate before I could say whether or not centrifugation would work. Also, what equipment do you have? Some of the centrifuges we use to separate things are very large and expensive.
Post again with more details.
Sybee
It would be helpful if next time you posted you gave more information. Suspensions of what?
Centrifugation is a good way to separate some things but not all. I would need to know what it is that you are trying to separate before I could say whether or not centrifugation would work. Also, what equipment do you have? Some of the centrifuges we use to separate things are very large and expensive.
Post again with more details.
Sybee
Re: Question about suspensions
HiSciB wrote:Hi,
It would be helpful if next time you posted you gave more information. Suspensions of what?
Centrifugation is a good way to separate some things but not all. I would need to know what it is that you are trying to separate before I could say whether or not centrifugation would work. Also, what equipment do you have? Some of the centrifuges we use to separate things are very large and expensive.
Post again with more details.
Sybee
Thanks for answer , I asked for such suspensions like mud that the size of their solid pieces are more than 100 nm (nanometer)
And also I want to know is it possible to separate them by Separatory funnel?
Thank you a lot
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SciB
- Expert
- Posts: 2068
- Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:00 am
- Occupation: Retired molecular biologist, university researcher and teacher
- Project Question: I wish to join Scibuddies to be able to help students achieve the best science project possible and to understand the science behind it.
- Project Due Date: n/a
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: Question about suspensions
Hi,
A separatory funnel is for separating liquids where there are two like oil and water that remain separate when shaken together.
In order to separate the particles in mud I would use a graduated cylinder of a volume of 100-250 ml, but you can use a glass jar that holds about a quart. Plastic cylinders would be ok, but glass allows you to see the particles more clearly. To separate the particles, put about 50 ml of mud in a 4 cup measuring cup, add 200 ml of water, stir it around well to suspend all the particles then immediately pour it into the cylinder. Now you just wait and watch as the particles settle by gravity--the heaviest first, then next heaviest, and so on until what's left is so small that it won't settle out. This will take at least 24 hours to make sure everything has settled. Take photos as you do the test and before and after settling.
Be sure and read about this test online because there are more details and information about the soil components--sand, silt, clay, etc. Here are some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7plpyBDNPJE
http://www.soil-net.com/dev/page.cfm?pa ... asestudies
http://www.finegardening.com/how-your-soil-texture
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/s ... artest.pdf
You could do the same thing by centrifuging the liquefied mud but the cylinder gives you a much greater length to see the settled particles.
Does this help? What is the purpose of the settling? Is this part of your science project? What question are you asking?
If you need more help, let us know.
Sybee
A separatory funnel is for separating liquids where there are two like oil and water that remain separate when shaken together.
In order to separate the particles in mud I would use a graduated cylinder of a volume of 100-250 ml, but you can use a glass jar that holds about a quart. Plastic cylinders would be ok, but glass allows you to see the particles more clearly. To separate the particles, put about 50 ml of mud in a 4 cup measuring cup, add 200 ml of water, stir it around well to suspend all the particles then immediately pour it into the cylinder. Now you just wait and watch as the particles settle by gravity--the heaviest first, then next heaviest, and so on until what's left is so small that it won't settle out. This will take at least 24 hours to make sure everything has settled. Take photos as you do the test and before and after settling.
Be sure and read about this test online because there are more details and information about the soil components--sand, silt, clay, etc. Here are some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7plpyBDNPJE
http://www.soil-net.com/dev/page.cfm?pa ... asestudies
http://www.finegardening.com/how-your-soil-texture
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/s ... artest.pdf
You could do the same thing by centrifuging the liquefied mud but the cylinder gives you a much greater length to see the settled particles.
Does this help? What is the purpose of the settling? Is this part of your science project? What question are you asking?
If you need more help, let us know.
Sybee