In chemical engineering, a cascade is a plant consisting of several similar stages with each processing the output from the previous stage. Cascades are most commonly used in isotope separation, distillation, flotation and other

separation Separation may refer to: Films * ''Separation'' (1967 film), a British feature film written by and starring Jane Arden and directed by Jack Bond * ''La Séparation'', 1994 French film * ''A Separation'', 2011 Iranian film * ''Separation'' (20 ...

or purification processes.

Cascade process

Cascade process is any process that takes place in a number of steps, usually because the single step is too inefficient to produce the desired result. For example, in some uranium-enrichment processes the separation of the desired isotope is only poorly achieved in a single stage; to achieve better separation the process has to be repeated a number of times, in a series, with the enriched fraction of one stage being fed to the succeeding stage for further enrichment. Another example of cascade process is that operating in a

cascade liquefier Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioch ...

.oxford dictionary of science, 4th edition, 1999.

Examples

If a still removes 99% of impurities from water (leaving .01 the original amount of impurities), a cascade of three stills will leave (1-0.99)³ = 0.000001 = 0.0001% the amount of impurities (99.9999% removed).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cascade (Chemical Engineering) Chemical process engineering