Chap 3: Methods of Purification

A pure substance is one that contains only one type of substance, i.e. only one type of
atom or molecule.
A mixture contains two or more different substances physically combined together. They
can be separated by different methods of purification.

Dissolving, Filtering and Evaporating:

This method is used when a mixture of solids (both soluble and insoluble) are dissolved
in a particular liquid.
For example, take a mixture of salt, sand and water. On stirring, the salt dissolves in
water, whereas the sand remains as it is. If we filter this mixture, the sand will be
collected in the filter paper as the residue, while the dissolved salt and water will pass
through the filter paper as filtrate.
To separate the salt from water, we put the solution in an evaporating dish and heat
gently. The water evaporates, leaving behind salt crystals. The slower the evaporation, the
larger the crystals. This process of evaporating some of the solvent and letting the
remainder dissolved solute to cool and turn into crystals is known as crystallization.

Separating Funnel:

This method is used to separate two immiscible liquids (liquids that do not mix together).
For example, we could take the mixture of oil and water and place them in a separating
funnel. The lighter liquid (oil) collects on the top and the heavier liquid (water) collects at
the bottom. When the tap is opened, the water at the bottom starts to flow out. It can be
collected in a container placed below the tap.

Fig 3.1. A separating funnel.

Simple Distillation:

This method is used to separate a pure liquid from a solution.

For example, take salt water, with the objective of obtaining the pure water from it and
removing the impurities. The flask containing the mixture is heated and when the solution
boils, steam is given off. This is cooled down and condensed in a condenser, which
consists of a jacket of cold water with the coldest water entering at the bottom of the
jacket and circulating out through the top. This way, it makes sure that the coldest part of
the condenser is just before the vapour escapes. The condensed water is called the
distillate and is collected in a receiver.

The water which collects in the flask is very pure as all its impurities are left behind in
the flask. It is called distilled water. A thermometer at the top of the flask shows the
temperature at which the vapour distills over (100C).

Fig 3.2. Simple Distillation Apparatus.

Fractional Distillation:

This technique is used to separate two mixtures which dissolve in each other. These
liquids are known as miscible liquids, and their separation depends on their different
boiling points.

For example, lets take a mixture of alcohol and water, having boiling points of 78C and
100C respectively. A fractionating column is used for this distillation. The fractionating
column is packed with glass beads, which provide a large surface area for condensation.

Method:
When the flask is heated, the vapour coming off from the mixture will contain both
ethanol and water molecules, but will be richer in ethanol molecules due to their lower
boiling point. At first the vapours will condense back, but as the coloumn warms up the
ethanol molecules will reach the top of the coloumn and will be distilled over, while the
water molecules, due to their higher boiling point, will continue to condense and fall back
in the flask. While the ethanol is being distilled over, the thermometer at the top shows a
constant temperature of 78C, the boiling point of ethanol. The ethanol passes through
the condenser, in which the cool running water cools and condenses the hot ethanol
vapour, and the liquid ethanol then flows down the inner tube of the condenser into the
receiver. This ethanol is now the distillate.

Fig 3.3. Fractional Distillation Apparatus.

Paper Chromatography:
The technique of using a solvent to separate a mixture into its components is called
chromatography. A drop of the mixture is placed on a chromatography paper, and one end
of the paper is dipped in a solvent. The solvent travels up, separating the different
components of the mixture and spreading them on the chromatography paper. This
technique is useful in separating dyes in ink, pigments in plants, etc, and to detect traces
of banned substances in food.

Testing the Purity of substances:

A pure substance has a fixed and exact melting point.
A pure substance has a fixed and exact boiling point.
A pure substance shows only one spot on a chromatogram.