Module Overview

​ This module will discuss the theory , techniques and methods on mechanical separation
of AB Materials .

Module Objectives / Outcomes:

1. Discuss the different mechanical separations for AB materials .

Learning Outcomes: At the end of the lessons the students will be able to:

Time Frame: 2 weeks

Introduction:

In food industry, separation technology is broadly used to separate, isolate, and purify a
particular component from a mixture. These are essential in the food manufacturing process.
A numerous separation technologies are available such as using membrane, centrifuge, decanter,
spray dryer, freeze dryer, and extractor. However, Processes which depend primarily on physical
forces to accomplish the desired separation of components are used quite commonly in most
phases of the food industry. These processes are normally referred to as mechanical separations
and include filtration, sedimentation, and centrifugation.
Hence ,separations are vital to all areas of the food processing industry. Separations usually aim
to remove specific components in order to increase the added value of the products, which may
be the extracted component, the residue or both. Purposes include cleaning, sorting and grading
operations , extraction and purification of fractions such as sugar solutions or vegetable oils,
recovery of valuable components such as enzymes or flavour compounds, or removal of
undesirable components such as microorganisms and agricultural residues .

Operations range from separation of large food units, such as fruits and vegetables
measuring many centimetres, down to separation of molecules or ions measured in nanometres.
Separation processes always make use of some physical or chemical difference between the
separated fractions; examples are size, shape, colour, density, solubility, electrical charge and
volatility. The separation rate is dependent on the magnitude of the driving force and may be
governed by a number of physical principles involving concepts of mass transfer and heat
transfer. Rates of chemical reaction and physical processes are virtually always
temperature-dependent, such that separation rate will increase with temperature. However, high
temperatures give rise to degradation reactions in foods, producing changes in colour, flavour
and texture, loss of nutritional quality, protein degradation, etc. Thus a balance must be struck
between rate of separation and quality of the product. Separations may be classified according to
the nature of the materials being separated.

Separations from solids

Solid foods include fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes, animal products (carcasses,
joints, minced meat, fish fillets, shellfish) and various powders and granules.

Solid-Solid Separations

Particle size may be exploited to separate powders or larger units using sieves or
other screen designs. Air classification can be achieved using differences in aerodynamic
properties to clean or fractionate particulate materials in the dry state. Controlled air
streams will cause some particles to be fluidised in an air stream depending on the
terminal velocity, which in turn is related primarily to size, but also to shape and density.
Also in the dry state, particles can be separated on the basis of photometric (colour),
magnetic or electrostatic properties. By suspending particles in a liquid, particles may be
 separated by settlement on the basis of a combination of size and density differences.
Buoyancy differences can be exploited to separate products from heavy materials such as
stones or rotten fruit in flotation washing, while surface properties can be used to separate
peas from weed seeds in froth flotation.

Separation From a Solid Matrix

Plant materials often contain valuable components within their structure. In the
case of oils or juices, these may be separated from the bulk structure by expression,
which involves the application of pressure. Alternatively, components may be removed
from solids by extraction , which utilises the differential solubilities of extracted
components in a second medium. Water may be used to extract sugar, coffee, fruit and
vegetable juices, etc. Organic solvents are necessary in some cases, e.g. hexane for oil
extraction. Supercritical CO2 may be used to extract volatile materials such as in the
decaffeination of coffee. A combination of expression and extraction is used to remove
99% of the oil from oil seeds.

Separations From Liquids

Liquid foods include aqueous or oil based materials, and frequently contain solids
either in true solution or dispersed as colloids or emulsions.

Liquid-Solid Separations

Discrete solids may be removed from liquids using a number of principles.

Conventional filtration is the removal of suspended particles on the basis of particle size
using a porous membrane or septum, composed of wire mesh, ceramics or textiles. A
variety of pore sizes and geometric shapes are available and the driving force can be
gravity, upstream pressure (pumping), downstream pressure (vacuum) or centrifugal
force.

Using smaller pore sizes, microfiltration, ultrafiltration and related

membrane processes can be used to fractionate solids in true solution. Density and
particle size determine the rate of settlement of dispersed solids in a liquid, according to
Stokes Law.
 Settlement due to gravity is very slow, but is widely used in water and effluent
treatment. Centrifugation subjects the dispersed particles to forces greatly exceeding
gravity which dramatically increases the rate of separation and is widely used for
clarifying liquid food products

Immiscible Liquids

Centrifugation is again used to separate immiscible liquids of different densities.

The major applications are cream separation and the dewatering of oils during refining​

General Liquid Separations

Differences in solubility can be exploited by contacting a liquid with a solvent which

preferentially extracts the component(s) of interest from a mixture. For example, organic
solvents could be used to extract oil soluble components, such as flavour compounds, from an
aqueous medium

Separations From Gases and Vapours

These separations are not common in food processing. Removal of solids suspended in
gases is required in spray drying and pneumatic conveying and is achieved by filter cloths, bag
filters or cyclones

MECHANICAL SEPARATION :

​ Mechanical- operated by a machine or machinery

Separation – It is a method to achieve any phenomenon that converts a mixture of

chemical substance into two or more distinct product mixtures , which may be referred to
as mixture , at least one of which is enriched in one or more of the mixture’s constituents
.

​ In some cases , a separation may fully divide mixture into its pure constituents .

Mechanical separation in food processing include two main operations the removal of substance
or material and their classification. Moreover, mechanical separation are based on differences of
density and size /shape of the food particles /pieces.
[Link]

​ It is settling of matter to the bottom of a fluid so as to separate suspended solids from

[Link] is very often used in the food industry for separating dirt and debris from incoming raw
material , and dust or product particles from air streams

An important application in the food industry , of sedimentation of solid particles occurs in spray
dryes.

In spray dryes, the material to be dried is broken up into small droplets of about 100 mico m
diameter and these fall through heated air, drying as they do so.

The necessary area so that the particles can be settled can be calculated in the same way as for
sedimentation .
[Link] SEPARATION

It is a process in which two heterogeneous mixtures of phases are separated from each
other by application of centrifugal force . The phases may be solid, liquid or gas . The basic
principle governing is the density difference .

The solid matter either floats or settles in the tank in due course of time because of the density
difference between the two phases . Moreover, to achieve quick settling centrifugal force is used
and the process is called centrifugal settling .

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​
Principle of Operation

​ The driving force for filtration is most often the pressure difference .In the beginning of
filtration process, filtrate flows easily through the medium with least resistance .The rate of
flitration which is the ratio of filtrate volume and time filtration is high in the beginning , but , as
the filtration progresses, the layer of cake deposition upstream gradually increases.

D. SIEVING

Samples of liquid -liquid separation

-​ Because of density differences , the lighter liquid separates from the heavier liquid, if
allowed to stand for some time
-​ Milk is a good example of emulsion where fat is in the finely dispersed state where as the
skim milk is in continuous phase .
 ▪​

Solid -gas separation

-​ Solid particles separation from a gas stream is very common phenomenon in food processing
operations
-​ The separation of milk powder from the drying air stream coming from the drying chamber
of a spray dryer after drying is a good example of solid-gas separation .
-​ The peripheral attachment required for this operation to accomplish is called cyclone
separator.

Benefits of using mechanical separation

-​ To save time
-​ Cost efficient
-​ Increases efficiency
-​ Can used for a wider range of application

Closure:
Congratulations students for the job well-done. The Module 7 is now completed and if need
assistance regarding the topics presented, please do not hesitate to seek advice. ​ ​
Module Assessment
​ 1. What is the topic about?
​ 2. What new information did you learn from the topic?​
References:

Brennan, J.,Grandison, A. and Lweis , M.(2006).”Food Processing Handbook”.ISBN:

3-527-30719-2.
[Link]
14%20-%20Separations%20in%20Food%[Link]
Perry R H and Green D W (1997) Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, Sevenyh Edition,
chapter 18, p.125-130.

Website :
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