Lesson 2.
Separation of Mixtures
General Chemistry 11/2
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Without knowing it, you are routinely performing the
preparation and separation of mixtures in your everyday
life.
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When you prepare
our favorite
powdered juice drink
or when you mix
ingredients when
cooking your favorite
dish, you are
preparing mixtures.
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When you filter
coffee from the
coffee grind or pick
out your favorite jelly
bean flavor or color,
you are separating
mixtures. There are
various ways to
prepare and separate
mixtures. 4
Separation techniques for mixtures
depend on its composition. These
techniques usually take advantage of the
differences in the physical and
chemical properties of substances in a
mixture.
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What techniques can be done to
separate the components of a
homogeneous mixture?
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Learning Competency
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:
Use properties of matter to identify
substances and to separate them
(STEM_GC11MP-Ia-b-5).
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Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Demonstrate the different methods of separating
the components of a homogeneous mixture and a
heterogeneous mixture.
● Explain the importance of these methods in the
preparation of certain products.
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Mixtures
Mixtures are combinations of two or more pure
substances in which each substance retains its own
composition and properties.
They can be classified into two
● homogeneous mixtures
● heterogeneous mixtures
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Mixtures
Homogeneous Mixtures
It is a combination of two or more substances that cannot
be distinguished from each other. It has uniform
composition and properties.
Heterogeneous Mixtures
It is a combination of two or more substances that can be
distinguished from each other.
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Mixtures
Heterogeneous mixtures can be further classified either as
suspensions or colloids.
● A suspension is a heterogeneous mixture whose
solutes do not completely dissolve and its particles
settle into clumps or layers when left undisturbed.
● A colloid is a heterogeneous mixture whose
solute-like particles are dispersed in a medium.
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What techniques can be done to
separate the components of a
homogeneous mixture?
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Have you ever wondered how salt is taken out of seawater?
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Solid-liquid mixtures are separated via evaporation.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Evaporation
● In this process, a solution is heated until it boils.
● Once it boils, the liquid solvent starts to evaporate and
leave behind the solid solutes.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Recrystallization can be used to separate solutions.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Crystals are allowed to form at lower temperature.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Recrystallization
It is a separation technique based on the difference in
solubilities of substances in an appropriate solvent at an
elevated temperature.
● Solubility refers to the amount of substance that can be
dissolved in a given solvent at a certain temperature.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Recrystallization
● This method requires dissolving the solid compound in
an appropriate solvent at an elevated temperature,
which increases the solubility of the solute.
● This separates the solute of interest with another solute
which has low solubility in the solvent.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Characteristics of an ideal solvent in recrystallization
1. The solute must be soluble at high temperatures but
only sparingly soluble at room or lower temperatures.
2. The impurities must be insoluble in the solvent.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Characteristics of an ideal solvent in recrystallization
1. No reaction must occur between the solute and the
solvent.
2. The solvent is moderately volatile and its boiling point is
lower than the melting point of the solute.
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Remember
In recrystallization, the solute must be
soluble in the chosen solvent at high
temperatures, but only sparingly
soluble at room temperature.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Have you ever seen these in laboratories in sci-fi movies?
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
This is a
distillation
setup used
on separating
components
of liquid
solutions
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Distillation
Distillation separates
components of a solution based
on differences in boiling points
between the two liquid
components.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Types of Distillation
1. Simple distillation is used when there is a large
difference in the boiling points of the components of the
solution.
2. Fractional distillation is used when there is a relatively
small difference in the boiling points of the components
of the solution.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Types of Distillation
3. Vacuum distillation is used for compounds with very
high boiling points.
4. Steam distillation is used for compounds that are
heat-sensitive.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Parts of a Distillation Setup
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Parts of a Distillation Setup
Distilling flask is
the laboratory
glassware that is
used to contain the
mixture that will be
distilled.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Parts of a Distillation Setup
Condenser aids in
the condensation
of the vapors or
the change of
vapors to liquids.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
The pure substance with the lower boiling point is called the
distillate or the product of distillation.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
The substance that remains in the distilling flask after
distillation is called the residue.
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Remember
There must be a large difference in the
boiling points of the liquid components
in order to perform distillation as a
separation technique for liquid
mixtures.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
How do you separate the ink in your ballpoint pens?
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Chromatography
Chromatography is a separation
technique that relies on the
differential partition of the
components between the two
important phases in
chromatography.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Parts of a Chromatographic Setup
● The mobile phase is the solvent in chromatography
that carries the components throughout the stationary
phase, which is an adsorbent material that holds the
solutes still when interactions are favored.
● These two phases must have opposite polarities.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Basis of Separation
● The separation is determined by the two competing
processes: the adsorption onto the stationary phase
and the solubility in the mobile phase.
● Solutes that have high solubility in the mobile phase will
go along with the mobile phase as it travels on the
stationary phase.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Classifications of Chromatography
Chromatography can be classified based on the polarity of
its phases.
● In normal-phase chromatography, the mobile phase
is nonpolar and the stationary phase is polar.
● In reversed-phase chromatography, the mobile phase
is polar and the stationary phase is nonpolar.
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Tips
Use the mnemonics NPSP for Normal
Phase Stationary phase Polar.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Classifications of Chromatography
Chromatography can also be classified based on the
structure of the stationary phase.
● In column chromatography, the stationary phase is
held in a column.
● In planar chromatography, the stationary phase is
supported on a flat plate.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Paper Chromatography
● In paper chromatography, as the mobile phase runs
through the paper upwards, the components of the ink
solution separate into its component dyes.
● The result of a chromatography experiment is called a
chromatogram, which is a visual record of the result of
the separation process.
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Which dye has the highest solubility in the mobile phase?
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Separation of Homogeneous Mixtures
Which dye has the lowest solubility in the mobile phase?
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What techniques can be done to
separate the components of a
heterogeneous mixture?
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
Manual picking using your hands or tongs can be done in
separating the components of these kinds of mixtures.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
Sieving exploits the difference in particle size of solids.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
Magnets can be used to attract magnetic materials.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
Filtration is a process of separating solids from liquids by
allowing the mixture to pass through a filtering material.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
Filtration
● The coffee grounds are separated from the brewed
coffee because its particles are too big to pass through
the holes of the coffee filter.
● The coffee grounds collected on the filter paper is
known as the residue while the brewed coffee is known
as the filtrate.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
Filter Paper
● The filter paper to be used in filtering suspensions can
be prepared in two manners: simple conical (3:1) or
fluted filter paper.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
A 3:1 filter paper is used when the solids are to be collected.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
A fluted filter paper is used when the filtrate is to be
collected.
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What type of filter paper will
you use during hot filtration
where the filtrate is to be
recovered fast?
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
● Sedimentation is the
process in which
suspended solids will
eventually separate from
liquids by gravity.
● Once the solid particles
settle at the bottom, the
liquid may be separated
through decantation.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
● An easier way to separate immiscible
liquids is by using a separatory funnel.
● It is used to separate two liquids with
different densities.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
Centrifugation is a process in which the suspension or
colloid is rotated at very high speeds. It uses a machine
called a centrifuge that rotates the sample.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
Initially, the particles are randomly dispersed in the medium.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
After the process, the solid particles are separated from the
liquid as they accumulate at the bottom of the container.
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Separation of Heterogeneous Mixtures
● The liquid can then be decanted to separate the solids
from the liquid.
● Different liquids with different densities can be
separated into layers using centrifugation as well.
● The layers can be separated from one another.
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Tips
When choosing the separation method
to be done on mixtures, you have to
first know what type of mixture it is
(homogeneous or heterogeneous). You
must also know the phases of its
components when separated from the
mixture.
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What are some important
applications of mixture
separations?
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In the chemical and
pharmaceutical
industry, separation
techniques are used
to purify chemicals to
acceptable
standards.
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In the petroleum
industry, distillation
is often used as a
method to purify
products. A refinery
is an industrial site
that is used to refine
substances like oil,
alcohol, and other
substances. c
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In the wastewater industry, separation techniques such as
sedimentation, centrifugation, microfiltration, and
distillation are used to recover water from used water.
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In the field of health
and medicine,
centrifugation is used
to separate the
components of blood
or urine for further
laboratory testing.
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Check Your Understanding
Write yes if the separation technique is appropriate
for the given mixture.
1. colored clothes from white clothes : filtration
2. chalk and water : filtration
3. boiled noodles in water : recrystallization
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Let’s Sum It Up!
● Homogeneous solid-liquid mixtures may be
separated by evaporation or by recrystallization.
○ Evaporation is done by heating the solution to
dry up the solvent and crystallized the
substance of interest.
○ Recrystallization is a separation technique
based on the difference in solubilities of
substances in an appropriate solvent at an
elevated temperature. 67
Let’s Sum It Up!
● Homogeneous liquid-liquid mixtures may be
separated by distillation or by chromatography.
○ Distillation is a separation technique based
on the difference of boiling points between
two liquid components.
○ Chromatography is a separation technique
that relies on the differential partition of the
components between its two components.
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Let’s Sum It Up!
● Different methods can be used to separate
heterogeneous solid-solid mixtures.
Components of some mixtures of this type can be
separated by manual picking, sieving or by
using a magnet.
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Let’s Sum It Up!
● Different methods can be used to separate
heterogeneous solid-liquid mixtures.
○ Filtration is a process of separating solids
from liquids by allowing the mixture to pass
through a filtering material.
○ Sedimentation is the process in which
suspended solids will eventually separate from
liquids by gravity.
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Let’s Sum It Up!
● Different methods can be used to separate
heterogeneous solid-liquid mixtures.
○ Decantation is the removal of the liquid
component from the solid sediment by
pouring the liquid out of the container gently
to avoid the solid particles to suspend again.
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Let’s Sum It Up!
● Different methods can be used to separate
heterogeneous solid-liquid mixtures.
○ Centrifugation is a process in which the
suspension is rotated at very high speeds,
allowing the components to separate into
layers based on their densities or particle size.
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Challenge Yourself
A bunch of needles fell on a basket of
feathers. What is the best method to
do to separate the needles from the
feathers without hurting yourself?
Explain.
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Photo Credits
● Slide 47: Fe-S mixture 01 by Asoult is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International via Wikimedia Commons.
● Slide 63: Milli-Q Water Filtration Station by Proaudio55 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via
Wikimedia Commons.
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Bibliography
Brown, Theodore L. 2004. Chemistry: The Central Science (11th ed). Singapore: Pearson Education (Asia)
Pte Ltd. Print.
Chang, Raymond. 2010. Chemistry (10th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill. Print.
Petrucci, Ralph H. General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications. Toronto, Ont.: Pearson
Canada, 2011. Print.
Silberberg, Martin S. 2009. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change (5th ed). New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Whitten, Kenneth W. Chemistry (10th ed). Boston: Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
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