Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Learning Outcomes

Identify the different types of solutions Investigate experimentally the effect of structure and temperature on solubility of solids in water Distinguish among solutions, suspensions and colloids Identify suitable separation techniques based on difference in properties of the components of mixtures Describe the extraction of sucrose from sugar cane

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Pure substances
A pure substance is a single substance not mixed with anything else. Sugar and table salt are examples of pure substances.

Sugar crystals

Pure substances usually exist in crystal form. For example, table salt, sugar and copper(II)

sulphate all exist as crystals. A pure substance can be an element or a compound.

Copper(II) sulphate

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Pure and impure substances

A pure substance has a fixed melting point and boiling point. For example, pure water boils at 100 oC, and melts at 0 oC.
b.p. 100 oC m.p. 0 oC

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Impure substances or mixtures

A mixture on the other hand, is an impure substance. It does not have a fixed melting point and boiling point. It melts or boils over a range of temperatures. For example, sea water boils at about 102 oC and freezes at around 2.5oC. In general, an impurity lowers the melting point and increases the boiling point of a substance.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Impure substances or mixtures

In nature, most substances are impure. They consist of two or more substances mixed together. Such substances are called mixtures. Examples of mixtures are air, sea water, petroleum and granite rock. Mixtures can be purified or separated by physical methods.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

A Mixture
Air is made up of different gases: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and noble gases such as argon, neon, and helium. The gases in air can be easily separated by liquefaction followed by fractional distillation. Air is an example of a mixture.

A mixture is made up of two or more substances physically combined together.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Composition of a mixture

A mixture can be made up of two or more elements. E.g. Brass is a mixture of copper and zinc.

Copper atom Zinc atom

Brass

A mixture can be made up of two or more elements or compounds. E.g. Air is a mixture which contains both elements and compounds.
Air contains both elements and compounds.

Element

Compound

Mixtures
Mixtures

Homogenous

Heterogeneous

Solution

Suspension

Colloid

Emulsion

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Homogeneous mixtures

Homogeneous mixture is uniform throughout no difference. Characteristics of solutions:

When left to stand, the solute and solvent do not separate. Solutes are not visible (particle size 1 nm). All parts of the solution have the same chemical composition, chemical and physical properties.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Homogeneous mixtures

Solubility of a solution refers to the amount of solute that is able to dissolve in a given quantity of solvent at a fixed temperature and pressure. The rate of dissolving of a solute depends on:
Temperature (e.g. Solubility increases with temperature.) Surface area of solute (e.g. Fine sugar dissolves faster than rock sugar.) Rate of agitation (e.g. Stirring the solution increases the rate of dissolving.)

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Heterogeneous mixtures

Heterogeneous mixtures have non-uniform compositions which can be mechanically separated. Examples of heterogeneous mixtures are colloids and suspensions. Colloids include fog, smoke, shaving cream, milk, blood, styrofoam, gelatin, and cheese. Suspensions include muddy water, paint and chalk powder suspended in water.

Definitions
Solution- A solution is formed when one substance called a solute dissolves in another called the solvent. Types of solution

State of solute solid State of solvent liquid Example

Sodiumchlori de and water Metal alloys eg brass Carbon dioxide in beverages

solid

solid

gas

Liquid

liquid

liquid

Alcohol and water

When two liquids form a solution they are said to be miscible. Suspension- A suspension is a type of mixture formed when the solute does not dissolve in a solvent. These particles settle on standing. Liquids that do not dissolve in each other are said to be immiscible. A colloid is a mixture where the solute particles are bigger than that of a solution but smaller than those in a suspension. These particle do not settle on standing and can pass through a filter paper.

Emulsion- These are type of colloids where one liquid is finely dispersed in another liquid. Eg mayonnaise, oil dispersed in water Summary of separation Technique

Type of mixture

Separation Method Sublimation

Principle of method

Example

Solid/solid

One substance sublimes the other does not Differing solubility in a particular solvent.

Ammonium chloride/sodium chloride Iodine/sodium chloride

Solvent extraction

solid/liquid suspension
Solution

colloid

Decantation and filtration Evaporation/ Crystallisation Simple distillation chromatography

Differing particle Chalk/water sizes Widely differing Copper boiling points sulphate/water

Differing solubilities in a praticular solvent leading to differing speed of movement on chromatogram Slightly differing boiling points Differing densities

Screened methyl orange

Liquid/liquid Miscible
immiscible

Fractional distillation Separating funnel

Ethanol/water Oil/water

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Quick check 1
1. Explain why air is a mixture but water is a compound. 2. (a), State two reasons why a mixture of iron filings and sulphur before heating is a mixture. (b) When the mixture of iron filings and sulphur is heated strongly, state two reasons why the solid formed is a compound. 3. State whether the following diagrams on the right represent elements, mixtures or compounds.
Solution

16

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Solution to Quick check 1
1.

Air is a mixture because it is made up of many gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, etc. not chemically combined together. The gases in air can be separated by physical means. Water is a compound because it is made up of hydrogen and oxygen chemically joined together. We cannot separate the gases in water by physical means.

2.

(a) It is a mixture because the iron and sulphur can be separated by physical means e.g. by using a magnet. Also, no heat or light is given out when the iron filings and sulphur are mixed together. (b) When the mixture of iron filings and sulphur is heated strongly, a compound is formed because a chemical reaction occurs e.g. heat and light are given off. Also, the sulphur and iron in the compound can no longer be separated by physical means such as by using a magnet.
(a) compound, (b) compound, (c) mixture, (d) mixture
Return 17

3.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Methods of separating Mixtures

Filtration Evaporation Crystallisation Sublimation Simple distillation Fractional distillation Use of separating funnel Chromatography

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Filtration
Filtration is the method used to separate an insoluble solid from a liquid. An example would be to separate a mixture of sand and water.

The solid (sand) left on the filter paper is called residue.

The liquid (water) that has passed through the filter paper is called filtrate.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Evaporation
Evaporation is the method used to separate a solute from a solution. It can only be used for solids which do not decompose under heat e.g. table salt (sodium chloride). It is done by heating the solution in an evaporating dish until it is completely dry.

Crystals of salt remain after the solution is evaporated to dryness.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Crystallisation

Crystallisation is the method used to obtain pure crystals from a solution. It is done by heating the solution in an evaporating dish until it is saturated. The hot solution is then allowed to cool. Crystals will be formed on cooling. They are then dried between sheets of filter paper.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Sublimation
Sublimation is the method used to separate a substance which sublimes from a mixture. Examples of substances which sublime are: iodine, ammonium salts, naphthalene and dry ice. The mixture is heated in an evaporating dish covered with a filter funnel. The substance which sublimes will be changed into a vapour and then formed back on the inside of the funnel.

To separate ammonium chloride from sodium chloride, this method can be employed.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Simple distillation
Distillation is the method used to obtain a pure solvent from a solution. E.g. pure water from seawater. It is done by heating the solution in a distillation flask and collecting the vapour that boils off. A condenser is used to condense the hot vapour and change it to a liquid. The condenser is cooled by the flow of cold water (in the condenser) from the tap.

The pure liquid collected from distillation is called distillate.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Fractional distillation

Fractional distillation is used to separate two or more miscible liquids with different boiling points. A fractionating column and a condenser are used.

Example: Mixture of ethanol and water When the thermometer reaches a steady temperature of 78 oC, ethanol is collected. Water is collected when the thermometer reaches a steady temperature of 100 oC.

Separation of ethanol-water mixture by fractional distillation

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Use of separating funnel
This method is used to separate a mixture of immiscible liquids. The mixture is placed into a separating funnel and allowed to settle into two layers.

Example: Mixture of oil and water The tap is first opened to allow the water to drain out of the funnel. After all the water has drained out, another beaker is placed below the funnel and oil is now drained out.
Separation of oil-water mixture by using a separating funnel

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Chromatography
Chromatography is a method used to separate and identify small quantities of substances. There are different kinds of chromatography techniques, such as gas chromatography, liquid chromatography and paper chromatography. It is based on the principle that different substances have different solubilities in the same solvent. The more soluble substance will get carried along faster by the solvent and move further ahead than the less soluble substances.

Paper Chromatography

Chromatography can be used to detect and identify very small quantities of substances. It is used to detect banned dyes used in food colourings, and detect illegal drugs used by athletes during major competitions.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Setup for paper chromatography
-The starting line must be drawn in pencil, not ink. This is because unlike ink, pencil lead is insoluble in the solvent and will not interfere with the chromatogram. -The spots of mixtures must be placed above the solvent level, so that they will not immediately dissolve in the solvent, and the solvent has time to slowly move up.
solvent front glass cover chromatography paper

large beaker

starting line

solvent

-The solvent front must be allowed to move as far up the paper as possible to ensure that all the dyes are separated.

Mixtures and Separations

The Rf value of a substance
(10 cm)

Chapter 8

(7 cm)

Rf value = distance moved by a substance distance moved by solvent front

E.g. Rf value of red dye = 7 cm = 0.7 10 cm

Sometimes the chromatogram needs to be sprayed with a locating agent to make the colourless spots in the chromatogram appear.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Paper chromatography
Worked example
The chromatogram shows 3 single dyes red, green and blue, and also four unknown samples P, Q, R and S. Identify the dyes present in each of the samples, P, Q, R, S.

Solution
Sample P contains green dye and one unknown dye. Sample Q contains only blue dye. Sample R contains green, blue and red dyes. Sample S contains green and red dyes.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Identify the various method separation methods used in the diagram below .

30

Extraction of sucrose from sugar cane

The cane sugar stalks and harvested and brought to factory for processing The cane stalks are cleaned by passing then along an agitated conveyer belt which passes strong jets of water over the cane stalks to remove dust, small rocks and leaves. The stalks are passed into shredder which contains revolving knives which cut stalks into chips The chips are passed into crusher consisting of two or three heavily grooved rollers. At the same time as the chips are crushed , hot water is sprayed onto the chips to dissolve the sugar in the stalks.

The juice that is extracted is an acidic, dark green liquid which contains sediments. The next step is clarification. The juice is neutralisation of calcium hydroxide and the addition of heat, insoluble salts are formed by the reaction between calcium hydroxide and sediment impurities. The non- sugar impurities are removed by continuous filtration producing a final clarified juice, which is 85% of water. The clarified juice goes into a series of three or four evaporators. The evaporators are under successively lower pressure so that as the juice passes from one to the next it boils at successively low temperatures .In this way the juice is concentrated but not charred or caramelized by the boiling process. The juice from the last evaporator is a thick syrup containing only 35% water.

The next step is crystallisation which take place in a single stage vacuum pan .The syrup is evaporated until saturate with sugar .As soon as the saturation point has been exceeded, small grains of sugar (called seed) are added to the pan to serve as nuclei for the formation of sugar crystals .As the crystals form, the remaining syrup becomes thick and viscous and is called molasses. The mixture of crystals and molasses form massecuite.

Molasses and sugar in the massecuite are separated by spinning in centrifuges. Each centrifuge contains a perforated basket .The massecuite is placed in the basket and is spun at high speed .The sugar crystals stay behind in the basket and the molasses is forced out through the holes.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Quick check
1. State the method you will use to separate the following substances. (a) calcium carbonate from table salt (b) iodine from sodium chloride (c) table salt from seawater (d) sugar from sugar solution (e) pure water from sewage water (f) ethanol from beer (g) yellow dye from durian ice cream Explain the following in chromatography. (a) Why is the starting line not drawn with ink or a ball point pen? (b) The spots of samples on the start line should be small. (c) What is the biggest advantage of chromatography? A sample of ink was analysed using paper chromatography (see diagram above). Identify the dyes present in the ink.
Solution

2.

3.

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Solution to Quick check
1.

2.

3.

State the method you will use to separate the following substances. (a) dissolution, followed by filtration (b) sublimation (c) evaporation (d) crystallisation (e) distillation (f ) fractional distillation (g) chromatography Explain the following in chromatography. (a) Ink contains dyes which could dissolve in the solvent and interfere with the chromatogram. (b) So that they would not smudge the paper. (c) It can detect and identify very small amounts of substances. Blue and yellow dyes
Return

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Experiment

3. Hold a magnet over the mixture of iron filings and sulphur.

The iron filings are attracted by the magnet and can be separated from the sulphur.
Mixture of iron and sulphur

4. Heat the mixture of sulphur and iron filings strongly in an evaporating dish. Examine the substance formed carefully.
A black

solid is formed. It does not look like iron filings or sulphur.

Compound of iron and sulphur 36

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

Experiment

5. Hold a magnet over the black solid. What happens?

The black solid is not attracted by the magnet. The iron can no longer be separated from the sulphur in the black

solid.

6. When iron filings and sulphur are heated, a compound called iron(II) sulphide is formed.

The equation for the reaction is: Fe(s) + S(s) FeS(s)

37

Chapter 8

Mixtures and Separations

To find out more about Methods of Purification and Analysis, click on the links below!
1. http://orgchem.colorado.edu/hndbksupport/filt/filtration.html 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distillation

3. http://orgchem.colorado.edu/hndbksupport/dist/dist.html
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_distillation 5. http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/Chromatography