"The rate at which solid particles sediment under the action of gravity can be greatly enhanced if the walls of the settling vessel are inclined rather than vertical. This phenomenon, often referred to as "The Boycott Effect", plays an increasingly important role in a variety of separation processes because, in principle, the sedimentation rate can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude if the vessel is properly designed."
Both the term and the concept were new to me. You learn something every day.
I wonder if this is similar to how pouring a beer into a tilted glass produces less head than pouring it into a vertical glass.. In the video it looks like there's something like a convective current that helps settle the sediment in the tilted cylinder.
ReplyDeleteIn the vertical beaker, I'm thinking that sediment functions about like turning a Coke bottle upside down: It barely flows. But if you tilt it, the air can continue to enter the bottle and prompt drainage.
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