How do you separate rice from mud?

Answer 1

Gravity is the easy way, lifting is hard, power and energy are expensive. If it is small scale and already in a container, consider siphoning the water or just punching a hole in the bottom of the container. If you have to move the water first and have the luxury of a submersible pump, I would recommend pumping the water out (perhaps even digging under the pump inflow as the water drains), that way you can put the water somewhere more useful (like in a tanker truck), or even filter it on the way out (a coffee filter looking thing in a tube at an angle works pretty well for low volume flow). If you need to further clean the water, then you will have to look into things like settling ponds and clumping agents, or if it needs to be done faster then you will need to investigate commercial options like high volume filters and other expensive processes. If you mean you have to move the gravel first instead, then basically a scoop or shovel or bucket with lots of holes in it (smaller than the gravel size you want to keep) works well, if you can let the water drain for a few seconds each scoop. If further drying is required, maybe spreading it in the sun and occasionally raking, or letting more water drain through a grate while transporting, or even heating to remove the water faster.

Answer 2

Although heating the rice and gravel with an acetylene torch will separate the two materials the rice will be incinerated in the process. Not too satisfactory.The first suggestion is usually based on a suggestion that rice floats and gravel doe not. As rice has a bulk destiny of less than that of water one might assume that it floats. However bulk density is an overall density of the rice itself and the air between the grains. In addition some rice grains are dryer and lighter and others heavier. This latter point is often noted by rice cookers who see some rice in a pot of water float and other grains (the majority) sink.Simply mixing rice and gravel with water isn't going to be satisfactory. This changes of you substitute a saturated salt solution for just plain water (to other dense fluid like carbon tetrachloride) as the density at 0 C is about 20% higher than that of water., but where's the fun in that?

Looking at what we have to work with - two materials pf about the same size and shape with markedly different specific gravities (gravel and rice), a non-viscous fluid which is closer to the specific gravity of one of the materials (rice and water), and a gravitational field acting on all the particles - we can develop a system that separates the two materials.

Denser materials sink faster than lighter materials of the approximate same size and shape. If the water, gravel and rice is mixed together then poured into a tall cylinder already full of water the gravel will speed to the bottom followed by the rice. There is an interface where the rice meets the gravel but they are separated for the most part.

Alternately we can flow water into the rice gravel mixture at rate which lifts the rice out and over the top of the container while leaving the gravel behind. The overflow can be served or filtered to recover the rice.

As third option we can "pan for rice" in the same way we pan for gold. Sloshing the rice and gravel around in a shallow flattish pan will drive the lighter rice to the rim handout into another container leaving the heavier gravel behind.

Answer 3

Although heating the rice and gravel with an acetylene torch will separate the two materials the rice will be incinerated in the process. Not too satisfactory.The first suggestion is usually based on a suggestion that rice floats and gravel does not. As rice has a bulk destiny of less than that of water one might assume that it floats. However bulk density is an overall density of the rice itself and the air between the grains. In addition some rice grains are dryer and lighter and others heavier. This latter point is often noted by rice cookers who see some rice in a pot of water float and other grains (the majority) sink.Simply mixing rice and gravel with water isn't going to be satisfactory. This changes of you substitute a saturated salt solution for just plain water (to other dense fluid like carbon tetrachloride) as the density at 0 C is about 20% higher than that of water., but where's the fun in that?

Looking at what we have to work with - two materials pf about the same size and shape with markedly different specific gravities (gravel and rice), a non-viscous fluid which is closer to the specific gravity of one of the materials (rice and water), and a gravitational field acting on all the particles - we can develop a system that separates the two materials.

Denser materials sink faster than lighter materials of the approximate same size and shape. If the water, gravel and rice is mixed together then poured into a tall cylinder already full of water the gravel will speed to the bottom followed by the rice. There is an interface where the rice meets the gravel but they are separated for the most part.

Alternately we can flow water into the rice gravel mixture at rate which lifts the rice out and over the top of the container while leaving the gravel behind. The overflow can be served or filtered to recover the rice.

As third option we can "pan for rice" in the same way we pan for gold. Sloshing the rice and gravel around in a shallow flattish pan will drive the lighter rice to the rim handout into another container leaving the heavier gravel behind.

Answer 4

Add water and the rice will float and the gravel will sink to the bottom.

Answer 5

dry rice floats for a short time on water, gravel does not.

Answer 6

Put the mud and grains of rice mixture in a sieve and spray with water until all the mud has been washed away, leaving behind the grains of rice.