Separation of a Mixture of Two Immiscible Liquids

Separation of a Mixture of Two Immiscible Liquids

• The separation of a mixture of two immiscible liquids is done by using a separating funnel.
• Applications: To separate a mixture of oil and water in the extraction of iron from its ore.

Immiscible liquids break out into layers according to their densities, which is the basic idea behind the separation of immiscible liquids using a separating funnel.

Centrifugation

• Centrifugation uses centrifugal force for the separation of two liquids in a mixture.
• Here, a denser component of the mixture migrates away from the axis, and a lighter component migrates towards the axis.

Applications

• Used for blood and urine tests in diagnostic facilities.
• Used to separate butter from cream in dairies and at home.
• Utilised washing machines to extract water from drenched clothing.

Sublimation

Sublimation is the transition of a substance from solid phase to gaseous phase without changing into liquid phase.

• Example: Naphthalene balls undergo sublimation.

Solid undergoing sublimation

Chromatography

• Chromatography is used to separate the different components in a liquid mixture.
• It is based on the different properties of compounds in two phases: stationary and mobile phase.

Applications

• The technique of chromatography is extensively employed in the pharmaceutical industry in order to analyze and identify the presence of any trace amounts of chemicals and elements in a given sample.
• In the food industry, the technique of chromatography plays a vital role in the determination of the shelf life of food substances by helping in the analysis of the point at which food spoils.
• In the field of molecular biology, the study of proteomics and metabolomics often involves the use of various hyphenated chromatographic techniques (the most notable of which being EC-LC-MS).

Distillation

Distillation is a method for separating the component substances from a liquid mixture by selective evaporation and condensation.

• Used in: Production of gasoline, distilled water, xylene, alcohol, paraffin, kerosene etc.

Fractional Distillation

Fractional Distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts or fractions by their melting points.

• This is the process of separation of chemical compounds by their boiling point.
• The mixture is heated to a temperature at which one or more fractions will vaporize.