Physical Separation

of a

Mixture

Luis Gutierrez Dr. Chakravarty

09/20/13 Chemistry 125

Physical Separation of a Mixture

Date of experiment: Friday September 13, 2013

Name: Luis Gutierrez; September 20, 2013

Introduction

This lab was the separation of the components of a ternary mixture. The three objectives in this lab were:

1. Learn the different separation techniques which include; sublimation, extraction, decantation, filtration and evaporation.

2. Separate three components in a mixture using the separation techniques learned.

3. Determine the mass percentages of each of the three components present in a mixture.

In order to separate the components of a ternary mixture, one must understand what a mixture is and the different separation techniques that can be used. Mixtures are defined as a physical combination of two or more pure substances. Separation techniques are used to separate components that are not chemically combined. Because only physically combined mixtures are being used in this experiment, the separation techniques described in this experiment are based on physical changes, rather than chemical changes.

METHODS

1. Sublimation- Involves the heating of a solid that passes directly into a gaseous phase without transitioning into a liquid phase. The reverse process where a gas goes into the solid phase is called deposition or condensation.

2. Evaporation- Involves the heating of a mixture in order to separate a volatile liquid in the form of a vapor, while the residual components remain dry.

3. Extraction- Involves using of a solvent that selectively dissolves only a single component while the other components remain insoluble.

4. Decantation- Involves the separation of a liquid from insoluble solid sediment by carefully