The key difference between gravity separation and magnetic separation is that gravity separation uses gravitational force for the separation of components in a mixture, whereas magnetic separation uses magnets or magnetic material to separate components in a mixture.
Separation techniques are very important in industrial applications in order to purify and isolate desired substances by removing unwanted impurities.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Gravity Separation
3. What is Magnetic Separation
4. Gravity Separation vs Magnetic Separation in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Gravity Separation?
Gravity separation is an analytical technique where we can separate two components either in a suspension or in a granular mixture using the force of gravity. However, this technique is useful only when it is sufficiently practical, for example, when the component mixture contains components with different specific gravity values. Typically, all gravity separation methods are common and similar because they use gravitational force as the dominant force.
Gravity separation is useful in many industries because it can be used to separate components from mixtures that are both wet (such as suspensions) and dry (such as the granular forms). However, we can use other methods to speed up the separation process and also to make it more efficient. Examples of such other methods are flocculation, coagulation, and suction. Furthermore, the gravity separation is useful in industries because it needs a low capital and operating cost. In addition, it may or may not use chemicals which has any environmental considerations.
For example, in agriculture, we can use gravity separation to remove impurities, admixture, insect damage and immature kernels from crop products such as wheat, barley, peas, cocoa beans, linseed, etc. Moreover, we can use this method to separate and standardize coffee beans, cocoa beans, peanuts, corn, peas, rice, wheat, etc.
What is Magnetic Separation?
Magnetic separation is the analytical technique of separating components in a mixture using magnets to attract magnetic materials. Therefore, we can separate magnetic materials from non-magnetic materials. This method is important for few minerals separation processes where minerals are either ferromagnetic or paramagnetic. Moreover, not all metals are magnetic; therefore, we can use this method to separate them from other metals (examples for non-magnetic metals include gold, silver, and aluminum).
When considering the uses of the magnetic separation method, it is useful in electromagnetic cranes that are involved in the separation of magnetic material from scraps and unwanted substances. It is also useful in shipment equipment and waste management. In this process, unwanted metals can be removed from other materials. Moreover, recycling centers use magnetic separation to separate components from recycling, for isolation of metals and to purify ores. In the pharmaceutical industry, magnetic separation is important to remove metals from product streams.
What is the Difference Between Gravity Separation and Magnetic Separation?
Gravity separation and magnetic separation are two types of separation techniques in analytical chemistry. The key difference between gravity separation and magnetic separation is that gravity separation uses gravitational force for the separation of components in a mixture, whereas magnetic separation uses magnets or magnetic material to separate components in a mixture.
The following figure lists the differences between gravity separation and magnetic separation in tabular form for side by side comparison.
Summary – Gravity Separation vs Magnetic Separation
Gravity separation and magnetic separation are important techniques in purifying and isolating substances. The key difference between gravity separation and magnetic separation is that gravity separation uses gravitational force for the separation of components in a mixture, whereas magnetic separation uses magnets or magnetic material to separate components in a mixture.
Reference:
1.“Gravity Separation.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Magnetic Separation” By Joellegavazziapril – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia