Question

State the principle of the process of centrifugation. List any three applications of centrifugation.

Answer 1

Centrifugation: Centrifugation is a technique used to separate the mixtures or particles from a solution by applying centrifugal force.

Principle of the centrifugation process

• The centrifuge involves the principle of sedimentation.
• The principle of the centrifugation technique is to separate the particles suspended in liquid media under the influence of a centrifugal field. These are placed either in tubes or bottles in a rotor in the centrifuge.
• Sedimentation is a phenomenon where suspended material settles out of the fluids by gravity. The suspended material can be particles such as clay or powder.

The three applications of centrifugation:

• It is used in diagnostic labs for blood and urine test.
• It is used to separate colloidal particles from their solutions.
• It is used to separate cream from milk and also butter from cream.