Decanting separates liquid from sediment, commonly used for red wine and wastewater treatment. Insoluble matter floats and settles, making decantation necessary. Filtration and decanting differ in the use of filters and sedimentation. Filtration is more effective and faster.
Decanting is a process used to separate a blend. It usually involves removing the liquid part of a substance while leaving the sediment. This process is used in a variety of cases. Red wine is a common example of a substance that is decanted. Wastewater can also be treated using this method.
Insoluble matter is something that doesn’t dissolve in a liquid. Instead, it tends to float and generally settles if the substance is left standing. The purpose of decantation is to separate the liquid from this type of matter.
This is because in many cases insoluble matter is unwanted. In the case of wine, decanting leaves only the liquid, so a person doesn’t have to worry about sediment when his or her glass is swirled. In a case like wastewater treatment, it removes solids that cannot be broken down or treated along with liquid waste.
The decanting process is fairly simple, although some skill and practice may be required if done manually. There must usually be a minimum of two containers. One should have the substance that needs to be decanted. The other will be used to collect the liquid.
The substance can be poured from one container to another. This should be done so that insoluble material does not leave the first container. In most cases, a choice will need to be made. Either a small portion of the liquid will need to be sacrificed or a small amount of sediment will need to be allowed into the liquid. It can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to manually decant an entire liquid.
Decanting is sometimes misused interchangeably with the word “filtration.” These two processes both achieve similar goals. However, they are not the same.
One of the biggest differences is that filtration uses a filter, or barrier material, that captures the sediment. With decanting, filters are not used. This means that filtration can be more effective because nearly all of the liquid can be recovered.
Another difference is that generally some degree of sedimentation is required to decant if the sediment is to be successfully separated. With filtration however, since there is a barrier, it doesn’t matter if the sediment and liquid are mixed together. This means that filtration may not only be easier, but can also be done faster.
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