Size Separation: Objectives, applications & mechanism of size separation,

official standards of powders, sieves, size separation Principles, construction,

working, uses, merits and demerits of Sieve shaker, cyclone separator, Air
separator, Bag filter & elutriation tank.

Definition: “Size separation is the process whereby the separation of powder particles
according to their particle size.”

Objectives (Aims)/Application: Size reduction cannot produce powders of uniform

particle size. Ideally, powders should have uniform particle size. Size separation is
carried out.
1. To separate powder particles as per their particle sizes.
2. To measure the size of particles in powder.
3. To produce precise dosing and quality formulation
4. To optimize crushing, grinding, or mixing, and reduce energy consumption
5. To analyze the quality of raw materials
6. To test the efficacy of size reduction mills
7. To select a sieve system for size reduction mill.

Mechanism of Size separation: Size separation can be achieved through various

mechanisms. It depends on the characteristics of the materials being separated and the
specific requirements of the process.
The following are some common mechanisms of size separation:
Agitation, Vibration, Gyration

Centrifugation: Centrifugation involves spinning a mixture of particles at high speeds in

a centrifuge. The centrifugal force generated causes particles to separate based on their
size and density. Larger and denser particles move towards the outer edge of the
centrifuge tube while smaller and lighter particles remain closer to the center.

SIEVES AND STANDARD OF SIEVES

Sieves and standard of sieves:

“Pharmacopoeial sieves have a square mesh of uniform size made up of rust-proof
metallic wires as woven material.” Normally, metallic wires of brass, bronze, or
stainless steel are used in pharmacopoeial sieves. Metallic wires should have
 Uniform diameters,
 Strength to tolerate mechanical pressure without distortion,
 should not have coating or plating. and
 No reaction between the materials to be sieved and the metal used to make
 Standard of sieves:
Pharmacopoeial Sieves must specify the following information

1. Sieve Number: The number of mesh in 25.4 mm (1 inch) in each direction parallel to
the wire is the sieve number. For example, Sieve number 22 will have 22 mesh in the
25.1 mm2 area of the sieve. Sieve number 44 will have 44 meshes in 25.1 mm2 area
of sieve. Thus sieve number 22 will have a larger mesh than sieve number 44. As the
sieve number increases there will be a decrease in mesh size.
2. Normal aperture size: It represents the size of the mesh square aperture of the sieve. It
is the distance between two adjacent wires. It is measured in cm or mm or micrometer
(µm).

3. Nominal diameter of wire: Specified diameter of wire to provide specified mesh

aperture size with sufficient strength to maintain sieve and sieve aperture size.

4. Approximate percentage area of sieve: It is an area of mesh that occupies the total area
of the sieve. It is decided by the diameter of the sieve wire. Normally sieve area
ranges from 35% to 40%. This range of percentage area is sufficient to provide the
required strength to the sieve.

5. Tolerance average aperture size: Ideally mesh size of the sieve should be of uniform
size. But practically, it is not possible. Variation in the mesh size of the sieve is
expressed as the “aperture tolerance average” It is expressed in percentage.
Pharmacopeia specifies some limits in this variation of aperture size. The aperture
tolerance average is on the lower side for coarse sieves while it is higher side for fine
sieves. Fine meshes cannot be woven as accurately as coarse meshes.

Types of Sieves
The following types of sieves are used in the pharmaceutical industry.
1. Woven wire sieves: It is made up of metal wires. The weaving pattern may be a plain
weave or a twilled weave. These sieves are most widely used in pharmaceutical industries
as hand sieves or in mills like ball mills, roller mills, etc.
2. Bolting cloth sieves: Twisted multi-strand fibers of silk or nylon are used in bolting cloth
sieves. They are suitable for fine powders.
3. Bar screens: These are made of cross bars fixed parallel. Clogging or blocking of sieve
mesh does not occur during sieving. They are suitable for handling heavy pieces of
materials such as in mining.
4. Perforated screens: It is made up of metal sheets with round, oval, square, or rectangular
holes. Plates with a small number of holes shall be stronger than plates with a large
number of holes. The perforated screen containing holes inclined at 45 degrees in the
plate is a Herringbone design. Perforated plate containing vertical holes (90 degrees or
right angle) is Cross cross-slot screen design. Perforated screens are used in the hammer.
Herringbone design is suitable for screening amorphous and crystalline materials. It is not
suitable for fibrous materials. Cross cross-slot screen design is suitable for slurries and
coarse powder of amorphous materials. It is not suitable for fine grinding because it clogs
quickly with the fine particles of powder.

Sieves and standard of sieves: “Pharmacopoeial sieves have a square mesh of uniform size
made up of rust-proof metallic wires as woven material.” Normally, metallic wires of
brass, bronze, or stainless steel are used in pharmacopoeial sieves.

Classification of powders as per IP:

It is also called the official standard of powder as per IP. Indian pharmacopeia (IP)
expresses the degree of coarseness or fineness of powder depending upon the size of
the mesh aperture through which powder particles can pass. There are five categories
of powders as per IP. IP specifies powder particle size either in mm or µm..7 mm is
equal to 1700 µm.
1. Coarse powder (10/44): All particles of powder pass through sieve number 10 (1.7 mm
mesh size) and not more than 40% of powder particles pass through sieve number 44
(355 µm mesh).

2. Moderately coarse powder (22/60): All powder particles pass through sieve number 22
(710 µm mesh) and not more than 40% pass through sieve number 60 (250 µm mesh)

3. Moderately fine powder (44/85): All powder particles pass through sieve number 44
(355 µm mesh) and not more than 40% pass through sieve number 85 (180 µm mesh).

4. Fine powder (85): All powder particles pass through sieve number 85.

5. Very fine powder (120): All powder particles pass through sieve number 120.

It is difficult to have all powder particles of uniform size. Hence, IP prescribes two
sieve numbers that are, one upper limit and one lower limit for three categories of
powders. These powders are coarse powder, moderately coarse powder, and
moderately fine powder. The last two categories of powder come under fine powder
grade. These fine powder and very fine powder. IP prescribes only one sieve number
just to maintain the fineness and quality of the product.

Methods of size separation

There are four methods to separate powder particles after size reduction. These are
Sieving, Cyclone separator, air separator, and elutrition.
 Sieving: Powder particles are passed through a series of sieves for their size
separation. Sieves are arranged in a sieving machine in descending order. That is the
larger sieve at the top and the smallest one at the bottom. The sieve machine
separates powder particles by using shaking sieves (agitation), brushing powder bed
on sieves, or using gyration (centrifugation).
  Air separation: Rotating discs or blades are used to create cyclones inside. The speed
of discs or blades decides the size of particles to be separated.
 Elutrition: It is used for the size separation of insoluble solid particles present in the
liquid. It separates solid particles by using their weight and gravitational force.
 Cyclone Separator

Cyclone separator
Principle:
The principle of a cyclone separator is based on the centrifugal force acting on
particles suspended in a fluid. It utilizes gravity, centrifugal force, vortex, powder
particle density, and cyclone velocity inside the cyclone separator. Cyclone separator
separates powder particles into two parts one part has coarse particles and the other
part has fine particles.
 1. Inlet: The mixture of particles and fluid enters the cyclone separator through the
inlet at high velocity. This creates a swirling motion within the cyclone separator.
 2. Centrifugal force: Centrifugal force causes the heavier particles to move towards the
outer wall of the cyclone. This force is generated due to the inertia of the particles
trying to resist the change in direction imposed by the swirling motion.
 3. Gravity Separation: Gravity pulls particles downward.
 4. Lighter particles and gas continue to move upwards and coarse particles downward.

Construction:
A cyclone separator is a device used to separate particles from a fluid stream based on
their size and density differences. The following are the basic construction of a
cyclone separator:
 1. Cylindrical body: The main structure of the cyclone separator is a cylindrical body.
This body is made of metal, plastic, or fiberglass and is shaped like a cone, narrowing
towards the bottom.
 2. Inlet: The fluid stream containing the powder particles enters the cyclone separator
through an inlet located tangentially at the top of the cylindrical body. This tangential
entry creates a swirling motion within the cyclone, known as cyclonic motion.
 3. Outlet: At the top of the cyclone separator, there is an outlet for the clean fluid to
exit. Since the heavier particles are forced towards the outer wall, they move
downward toward the bottom of the cyclone.
 4. Bottom Outlet: At the bottom of the cyclone separator, there is an outlet for the
heavier particles.
 5. Dust Collector: A dust collector is attached to the bottom outlet to collect the
separated particles. This collector prevents the particles from re-entering the fluid
stream.
 6. Air Lock Valve: In some designs of cyclone separators, an airlock valve may be
included at the bottom outlet to allow continuous discharge of separated particles
without allowing air or fluid escape.
 7. Support Structure: The cyclone separator is mounted on a support structure to keep
it stable and positioned correctly.
Working:
A cyclone separator is a device used to separate solid particles from a fluid stream based
on their size and density differences. It works on the principle of centrifugal force.

Mixture of powder particles in air or gas enters at very high speed into cyclone separator
through the tangential inlet. Air will flow and develop rotary motion inside a vertical
cylinder. Solid particles under centrifugal force and vortexing force rotate inside the
vessel. Solid particles larger in size and heavy in density shall be thrown out towards the
wall of the vessel. These particles fall to conical bases as velocity decreases. They are
collected at the bottom of the vessel. Smaller particles with low density move out through
the air outlet at the top of the vessel.

Advantages:

 1. High Efficiency: Cyclone separators are highly efficiency in separating powder

particles from air or gas streams. which utilizes centrifugal force.
 2. Low Maintenance: They have relatively simple designs with no moving parts. It
requires low maintenance.
 3. Compact Size: Cyclone separators are compact in design. It is to be installed in a
limited space.
 4. Cost-effective: They are cost-effective compared to other types of powder particle
separation equipment, both in terms of initial investment and operational costs.
 5. Robustness: Cyclone separators are robust and can handle abrasive materials
without significant wear and tear.
 6. Versatility: They can be used for a wide range of applications.

Disadvantages:
 1. Limited Particle Size Range: Cyclone separators are effective for larger particle sizes
but may not be as efficient for very fine particles.
 2. Pressure Drop: They can cause a pressure drop in the system, which may require
additional energy consumption to overcome, especially in high-flow applications.
 3. Collection Efficiency: While cyclone separators are generally efficient, they may not
achieve the same level of particle collection as more complex separation methods,
especially for finer particles.
 4. Particle Re-entrainment: Particles that have been separated re-enter the gas stream,
reducing overall efficiency.
 5. Sensitivity to Operating Condition: Cyclone separators may be sensitive to changes in
operating conditions such as flow rate, pressure, and particle characteristics, which
can affect their performance.
 6. Space Requirement: They are generally compact, However, larger cyclone separators
may still require significant space for installation, which could be a limitation in
certain environments.
 Applications:
 To separate solid particles from gas or air
 To separate powders depending upon powder particle size.
 To separate coarse particles of powder and fine particles of powder
 To separate solids in liquid suspension

AIR SEPARATOR

Principle

It works on the same principle as that of cyclone separator. But in this case the air
movement is obtained by means of rotating disc and blades. To improve the separation,
the stationary blades are used. By controlling these blades and the speed of rotation, it is
possible to vary the size at which separation occurs.

Construction

It consists of a cylindrical vessel with a conical base. In the upper part of the separator
the vessel is fitted with feed inlet, and at the base there are two outlets, one for light
particles and other for heavy particles. The rotating disc and rotating blades are attached
to the central shaft, to produce air movement.
Working

The sample powder is passed through the feed inlet, which falls on the rotating disc. The
rotating blades are attached to the same shaft. These produce a current of air as shown by
the arrows. The fine particles are picked up and are carried into space, where air velocity
is sufficiently reduced. The fine particles are dropped and ultimately collected at an outlet
meant for fine particles. The heavy particles which fall downward are removed at an
outlet meant for heavy particles.

Uses

Air separator is often attached to the ball mill or hammer mill to separate and return
oversized particles for further size reduction.

ELUTRIATION METHOD

The size separation of powder is based on the low density of fine particles and high
density of the coarse particles. Elutriating tank is used to separate the coarse and fine
particles of powder after levigation.

Working
The dry powder or paste made by levigation process is kept in an elutriating tank and
mixed with a large quantity of water.
The solid particles are uniformly distributed in the liquid by stirring and then it is allowed
to settle down.
Depending on the density of solid particles, it will either settle down or remain suspended
in water. The sample is withdrawn at different heights through the outlets.
These are dried and thus the powder with various size fractions are collected.

Nowadays in elutriation process, the particles are suspended in a moving fluid, generally
water or air. The apparatus consists of a vertical column with an inlet near the bottom for
suspension, an outlet at the base for coarse particles and an overflow near the top for fluid
and fine articles.
One column will give single separation into two fractions. If more than one fraction is
required a number of tubes of increasing area of cross section can be connected in series.
The velocity of the fluid decreases in succeeding tubes as the area of cross section
increases, thus giving a number of fractions. These fractions are separated and dried.

Advantages
The process is continuous.
Depending on the number of fractions required, the same number of tubes of different
area of cross section can be connected.
The separation is quick as compare to other methods of separation.
The apparatus is more compact than as that used in sedimentation methods.

BAG FILTER
Size separation of fine dust from the milled powder is achieved in 2 steps.
In 1st step, the milled powder is passed through a bag filter (cloth) by applying the
suction on the opposite side of feed entry.
In the 2nd step pressure is applied in order to shake the bags so that powder adhering to
bags falls off, which is collected from the conical base

Construction: It consist of number of bags made of cotton or wool fabric. These are
suspended in a sheet metal container. A bell crank lever arrangement is made to bring the
filter to normal
atmospheric
condition.
Working: Step I-Feed is separated from air by passing it through the cloth bags Step
II-Bags are shaken to collect the fines that are adhered to the bags.
These 2 steps are subsequent and are controlled at different interval with the help of bell
crank lever arrangement.

Filtering period-: The exhaust fan positioned at the top keeps the bags under less
pressure than atmospheric pressure. The gas containing fine particles or dust enters the
hopper and passes up. The gas feed passes through the fabric of bag. During this process,
the fines are retained in the bags, while gas reaches the top of the casing. Because of air
the bag remains taut during filtration operation.

Shaking period-: Since vacuum is cut off in the chamber, air from outside enters the
casing and passes through the bags. This result in violent shaking of the bags, so that the
dust and fine particles are displaced from the bags and falls into the conical base.

Uses
Bag filters are used along with other size separation equipment e,g cyclone separator It
is connected to the fluidized energy mill to discharge end.