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# Slurry

[slur-ee]
A slurry is, in general, a thick suspension of solids in a liquid and may be:

• A mixture of water and cement to form concrete
• A mixture of water, gelling agent, and oxidizers used as an explosive
• A mixture of water and Bentonite used to make slurry walls
• A mixture of wood pulp and water used to make paper
• A mixture of water and animal waste used as fertilizer
• Meat slurry, a food product
• An abrasive substance used in chemical-mechanical polishing, a semiconductor manufacturing process
• A mixture of ice crystals, water and freezing point depressant, called slurry ice
• A wet-process cement rawmix
• A mixture of water, ceramic powder and various additives (e.g., dispersant) used in the processing of ceramics.
• A mixture of water and a starch (normally corn starch) used to thicken liquids to make a culinary sauce; usually for a clear sauce, as the product will be translucent. It is comparable to and often the same as a gravy.

## Slurry calculations

To determine the percent solids (or solids fraction) of a slurry from the density of the slurry, solids and liquid::
$mathrm\left\{% solids\right\}=100 * frac\left\{rho_\left\{solids\right\}\left(rho_\left\{slurry\right\} - rho_\left\{liquid\right\}\right)\right\}\left\{rho_\left\{slurry\right\}\left(rho_\left\{solids\right\} - rho_\left\{liquid\right\}\right)\right\}$
where
$rho_\left\{solids\right\}$ is the solids density
$rho_\left\{slurry\right\}$ is the slurry density
$rho_\left\{liquid\right\}$ is the liquid density.

This equation is frequently used in mineral processing where the density of the solids (ore) and liquid (water) are known and the slurry density is measured.