Wine is often placed in a carafe to allow sediment to settle to the bottom.
Decantation is a process used to separate a mixture. It usually involves the removal of the liquid portion of a substance, leaving the sediment behind. This process is used in multiple instances. Red wine is a common example of a substance that is decanted. Wastewater can also be processed using this method.
Insoluble matter is something that does not dissolve in a liquid. Instead, it tends to float and will generally settle if the substance is left undisturbed. The purpose of decantation is to separate the liquid from this type of matter.
Red wine is one of the most preferred drinks.
This is done because in many cases insoluble matter is not desired. In the case of wine, decanting leaves just the liquid, so you don’t have to worry about sediment when the glass is shaken. In a case like sewage treatment, it removes solids that cannot be broken down or treated along with liquid waste.
The decanting process is fairly straightforward, although some skill and practice may be required if done manually. There should normally be a minimum of two containers. It must 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 must be done in such a way that the insoluble material does not leak out of the first container. In most cases, a choice will have to be made. It will be necessary to sacrifice a small portion of the liquid or allow a small amount of sediment to enter the liquid. It can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to manually decant a complete liquid.
Decantation is sometimes mistakenly used interchangeably with the word “filtration”. These two processes 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 sediment. Filters are not used with decantation. This means that filtration can be more effective because almost all of the liquid can be recovered.
Another difference is that some degree of sedimentation is generally required to decant if the sediment is to be successfully separated. However, with filtration, since there is a barrier, it doesn’t matter if the sediment and liquid mix. This means that filtering can not only be easier, it can also be done faster.