Separation of Mixtures by Threshing
When a food grain crop, such as wheat or paddy, reaches maturity, it is harvested from the field. The harvested crop is then sun-dried. We receive bundles of dried crop plant stems or stalks with grains attached at the top. A thin layer of chaff covers the grains attached to the stems or stalks. Each stalk is densely packed with chaff-covered grains. Grains are separated from stems and stalks, as well as chaff.
The process of threshing separates the grains from the stems or stalks. Threshing is beating wheat or paddy stems to separate grains from the stems and the chaff that covers the grains.
Crop plant stalks and stems, as well as chaff, are soft materials, whereas grains are extremely hard. Because the stalks and chaff are soft, they can be broken into pieces when beaten, but the grains are unaffected. Threshing is accomplished by holding bundles of stems in one’s hands and striking them against a hard surface. As a result, the grains separate from the stems.
Threshing is also done with the assistance of cattle. The harvested and dried crop plants are spread on the ground in a small area, and various cattle such as buffaloes and camels are made to walk in circles over them for an extended period of time. The cattle’s feet crush the stems or stalks, separating the grains from the stems. This crushing also breaks the chaff surrounding the grains, allowing the grains to be separated from the chaff. During the threshing process, the stalks are reduced to very small pieces known as hay, which is used as dry fodder for cattle. The husk is made up of broken chaff. For the threshing process, a motorized machine known as a thresher is used.
Separation of Mixtures
Separation of Mixtures or method of separation is the process of separating or extracting different components of a mixture using some physical methods. The type of mixture and variations in the chemical characteristics of the mixture’s components determine the separation method to be used. Separation of mixtures is often needed to get rid of unwanted or harmful components and to separate the useful components from the non-useful ones. Some of the methods of the mixtures explained in detail in this article are Filtration, Hand-picking, Threshing, Winnowing, Sieving, Sedimentation and decantation, Magnetic separation, Centrifugation, Evaporation, Distillation, and many more.
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