CLARIFICATION, or Fining

the act of making "clear" or "bright," applied especially to "clearing" or "fining" liquids by the addition of albumin, gelatine or isinglass. etc. The substances used in the process are known as "finings" and their operation is similar to the "settling" of coffee by the addition of egg-albumen (egg-white). When added to wine, for example, the result of the "fining" is to remove part of the tannin--the latter coagulates the fining and the mass drops to the bottom, leaving the liquid clear. Clarification is a very delicate process, because the removal of too much tannin injures the liquid, yet if too much is left, it becomes cloudy again.

Boneblack, Charcoal, Bullock's Blood, etc., are still largely used in the clarification of sugar, but centrifugal force is the principal agent in modern refineries. See general article on SUGAR.

Many liquids are clarified by filtering through cloth, silk, etc.