Separating the Components of Mixture

Do you remember how you used to play with pebbles and sand and tried to separate those? As grown-ups, you must be in a better position to understand the different types and components of mixture and how you can separate those. Let us read all about separation of the components of mixture in this topic.

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Separation of Mixtures

Due to several reasons, separating of mixtures is important. Most of the materials are there in our surrounding which are the mixtures of two or more components. For example, when we need to obtain pure water from dirty water then, we have to purify the substances i.e. dirty water or we might filter it or distil it. Some techniques are there for the separation of components from the mixture. Such as:

• Separating Funnel
• Chromatography
• Centrifugation

Browse more Topics under Is Matter Around Us Pure

• Physical and Chemical Changes
• What are the Types of Pure Substances?
• Introduction and What is a Mixture?
• What is a Solution?
• Concentration of a Solution
• What is a Colloidal Solution?
• What is a Suspension?

Separation Techniques For Components of Mixture

Using a separating funnel

Between two immiscible liquid phases, for the separation of components of the mixture, a separating funnel is used. Two phases are there one is an aqueous phase and another one is an organic solvent. Based on the differences in the densities of the liquids the separation will happen. The liquid with more density they will form a lower layer and the liquid with lower density forms the upper layer.

Applications

• From a mixture of oil and water to separate the components.
• From a mixture of kerosene oil and water to separate the components.

Centrifugation

Sometimes the solid particles in a liquid can pass through a filter paper because of very small size. For those type of particles the filtration technique, we cannot use for the separation purpose. That type of mixtures is separated by centrifugation process.Where normal filtration does not work well, there we can use centrifugation process of separation of insoluble materials from a liquid.

The centrifugation depends upon the size, shape, and density of the particles. It also depends on the viscosity of the medium and the speed of rotation. The theory is that the lighter particles stay at the top when spun rapidly, the denser particles are forced to the bottom.

Applications

The Centrifuge is the apparatus that is used for centrifugation process. Centrifuge tube holder is there in a centrifuge which is called rotor. This rotor has balanced centrifugal tubes by which we can balance amount of solid-liquid mixture.

The centrifuge tubes rotate horizontally when the rapid rotation of the rotor happens. The denser insoluble particles separate from the liquid, due to the centrifugal force. The solid particles end up at the bottom of the centrifuge tube with liquid at the top, when the rotation stops.

Question For You

Q1. What is the Heterogeneous and Homogeneous mixture?

Ans: A mixture is either homogeneous or heterogeneous. The Heterogeneous mixture is not uniform in composition. On the other hand, a homogeneous mixture is a uniform in composition. Air is the example of homogeneous mixture and oil in water is the example of a heterogeneous mixture.

They both have several physical methods by which you can separate the components. Based on the type of mixture and difference in chemical properties of the constituent of a mixture the choice of separation technique can be decided.

Q2. What are the different types of separation processes?

Ans: Many techniques are there for the separate the components of the mixture. Such as:

1. Crystallization
2. Filtration
3. Decantation
4. Sublimation
5. Evaporation
6. Simple Distillation
7. Fractional Distillation