OBJECTIVES.

To successfully separate the substances.

To determine the percent of each component in the original mixture.

INTRODUCTION.
A mixture is a material system made up of two or more different substances which are mixed
but are not combined chemically. A mixture refers to the physical combination of two or more
substances on which the identities are retained and are mixed in the form of solutions,
suspensions, and colloids.
Mixtures are the one product of a mechanical blending or mixing of chemical substances like
elements and compounds, without chemical bonding or other chemical change, so that each
ingredient substance retains its own chemical properties and makeup. Despite that there are
no chemical changes to its constituents, the physical properties of a mixture, such as its
melting point, may differ from those of the components. Some mixtures can be separated into
their components by physical (mechanical or thermal) means. The 4 main methods of
separation discussed in this experiment are extraction, decantation, filtration and
recrystalization.
Extraction in chemistry is a separation process consisting in the separation of a substance
from a matrix. It may refer to Liquid-liquid extraction, and Solid phase extraction. Other
techniques include Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, ultrasonic extraction, heat reflux
extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, DIC (instant controlled pressure drop).
Extractions use two immiscible phases to separate a solute from one phase into the other. The
distribution of a solute between two phases is an equilibrium condition described by partition
theory. Boiling tea leaves in water extracts the tannins, the obromine, and caffeine out of the
leaves and into the water. More typical lab extractions are of organic compounds out of an
aqueous phase and into an organic phase.
Decantation is a process for the separation of mixtures, by removing a top layer of liquid
from which a precipitate has settled. Usually a small amount of solution must be left in the
container, and care must be taken to prevent a small amount of precipitate from flowing with

the solution out of the container. It is frequently used to purify a liquid by separating it from a
suspension of insoluble particles (e.g. in red wine, where the wine is decanted from the
potassium bitartrate crystals). For example, to obtain a sample of clear water from muddy
water, muddy water is left in a container until the mud settles, and then the clear water is
poured into another container.
A mixture of two immiscible liquids can also be separated by decantation. For example, the
oil and water extracted from fish may be decanted to obtain the oil. A mixture of kerosene
and water can also be separated through decantation.
A centrifuge may be useful in successfully decanting a solution. The centrifuge causes the
precipitate to be forced to the bottom of the container; if the force is high enough, the
precipitate may form a compact solid. Then the liquid can be more easily poured away, as the
precipitate will likely remain in its compressed form. A mixture of an insoluble solid in liquid
is allowed to stand. The solid is insoluble and settles at the bottom if kept undisturbed for
some time. This process is called sedimentation. The clear liquid is then poured off carefully.
This process is called decantation.
Filtration is commonly the mechanical or physical operation which is used for the separation
of solids from fluids (liquids or gases) by interposing a medium through which only the fluid
can pass. The fluid that pass through is called a filtrate. Oversize solids in the fluid are
retained, but the separation is not complete; solids will be contaminated with some fluid and
filtrate will contain fine particles (depending on the pore size and filter thickness). Filtration
is also used to describe some biological processes, especially in water treatment and sewage
treatment in which undesirable constituents are removed by absorption into a biological film
grown on or in the filter medium as in slow sand filtration.
There are many different methods of filtration; all aim to attain the separation of substances.
Separation is achieved by some form of interaction between the substance or objects to be
removed and the filter. The substance that is to pass through the filter must be a fluid, i.e. a
liquid or gas. Methods of filtration vary depending on the location of the targeted material,
i.e. whether it is dissolved in the fluid phase or suspended as a solid.
Finally, recrystallization is a technique used to purify chemicals. By dissolving both
impurities and a compound in an appropriate solvent, either the desired compound or

impurities can be coaxed out of solution, leaving the other behind. It is named for the crystals
often formed when the compound precipitates out.

MATERIALS AND APPARATUS:

Sand, benzoic acid, tap water, sodium chloride

Beaker, hot plate, filter funnel, stirring rod.

METHODOLOGY:
A. EXTRACTION
1. Pestle and mortar was used to grind the sample used. This is done in order for us to
remove any lumps formed.
2. A cleaned 250-ml of beaker was used. The beaker which was used will be labeled as
Beaker 1. The mass of the empty beaker was recorded.
3. The sample which was grinded using the pestle and mortar was then transferred into
Beaker 1. The final mass of the beaker and the sample was recorded. The pestle and
mortar used was rinsed with water and dried.
4. About 75ml of tap water was then added to the beaker and placed on the hot plate. The
mixture was stirred occasionally using a stirring rod. The mixture was then brought to
boiling. Once it was boiled, all benzoic acid and sodium chloride should be in solution
(No more white solids are visible). If the solids are not completely dissolved about 10ml
of water can be added until the dissolution is complete.
B. RECRYSTALLIZATION
1. Then, about 100ml of tap water was added into the beaker 1. This supernatant liquid was
decanted into a second 250ml of beaker on the hot plate.
2. Ice bath was prepared in a 1 L beaker. The 2nd beaker which contained the solutions of
benzoic acid and salt was placed into that ice bath. It is ensured that the beaker does not
sink into the ice bath.

C. FILTRATION
1. The mass of the filter paper was measured.

2. The apparatus was assembled for gravity filtration as shown. The filter paper was folded
and placed on the filter funnel. An appropriate-sized funnel was selected so the filter
paper does not extend over the funnel edge. A beaker was placed below the funnel. The
cold recrystallized benzoic acid mixture was poured through the filter funnel. The wet
solid was then transferred into the funnel using spatula.
3. The traces of the solids were rinsed into the funnel with small amount of cold water.
When the process is complete, the filter paper was removed carefully. The solid crystal
was then placed on a watch glass and set aside for drying.
4. The mass of the crystal formed was then measured.

D. DECANTATION:

1. To make sure that all the soluble materials are separated from the sand, the sand was
washed with about 20ml of boiling water and the washings was decanted into a
second beaker. The sand is not allowed to get into the 2nd beaker.
2. Beaker 1 containing the sand was warmed, on the hot plate. The sand tends to splatter
if heated too rapidly. You may cover the beaker with a watch glass (mass it first!) to
minimize losses. When the sand is completely dry, the beaker was allowed to cool to
room temperature and mass Beaker 1+sand; record.

RESULTS:

RESULTS & CALCULATION

Initial Volume of tap water = 75 mL

Materials

Mass (g)

Sodium Chloride salt (feed)

2.80

Benzoic Acid (feed)

2.80

Sand (feed)

3.70

Mixture of samples

2.80 + 2.80 + 3.70 = 9.30

250 mL Beaker 1 (empty)

98.24

Beaker 1 + Mixture of samples

98.24 + 9.30 = 107.54

Beaker 1 + Sand

101.66

Sand recovered

107.54 - 101.66= 5.88

250 mL Beaker 2 (empty)

101.96

Watch glass (empty)

33.70

Watch glass + Filter paper (empty)

35.04

Filter paper (empty)

35.04 33.70 = 1.34

Watch glass + Filter paper + Crystal

36.95

Benzoic Acid recovered

36.95-35.04 = 1.91

Beaker 2 + Sodium Chloride

105.77

Sodium Chloride Recovered

105.77-101.96 = 3.81

1. Calculating mass fraction of each feed using formula below;

Mass fraction=

Feed mass(g)
Total Feed mass (g)

Total mass of sample = 9.30 g

Mass of Benzoic Acid (feed) = 2.80 g
Mass of NaCl salts (feed) = 2.80 g
Mass of Sand (feed) = 3.70 g

i)

Mass Fraction of Benzoic Acid =

ii)

Mass Fraction of NaCl salt =

iii)

Mass Fraction of Sand =

2.80
9.30

2.80
9.30

3.70
9.30

= 0.301

= 0.301

= 0.398

2. Calculating mass fraction for each recovered samples;

Using formula:
Mass fraction=

recovered mass of each sample( g)

Total recovered mass(g)

Mass of Sand recovered = 3.42 g

Mass of Benzoic Acid recovered = 1.91 g
Mass of NaCl recovered = 2.61 g
Total recovered mass (mixture sample) = 3.42 g + 1.91 g + 2.61 g
= 7.94 g
i)

Mass Fraction of NaCl salt =

2.61
7.94

= 0.329

ii)

Mass Fraction of Benzoic Acid =

iii)

Mass Fraction of Sand =

3.42
7.94

1.91
7.94

= 0.241

= 0.430

3. Calculating the percent mass of each samples in the mixture;

i)
ii)
iii)

Benzoic Acid = 0.301 X 100% = 30.1 %

NaCl salt = 0.301 X 100% = 30.1 %
Sand = 0.398 X 100% = 39.8 %

4. Calculating percent error based on experiment;

Using formula:
Feed Value ( Accepted )Recovered Value( Experimental)
% error =
Feed Value(Accepted)

i)

% error Benzoic Acid =

ii)

% error NaCl salt =

2.801.91
2.80

2.802.61
2.80

iii)

% error Sand =

3 .703.42
3.70

iv)

Total % error =

9.30 7.94
9.30

x 100%

x 100% = 32.1 %

x 100% = 6.79 %

x 100% = 7.57 %

x 100% = 14.62 %

DISCUSSION:
Based on this experiment, we have learnt many types of separations of a solid
mixture. Here, extraction, re-crystallisation, filtration and decantation were studied using
mixture sample which consist of benzoic acid, sodium chloride salt (NaCl) and also sand.

Initially, the mass of each samples were weighed using electronic balance. The mass of
benzoic acid weigh was 2.80 g, sodium chloride (NaCl) salt weighing 2.80 g and 3.70 g for
sand. All the results were recorded as shown is the above Table 1.
Furthermore, from the values tabulated above, percentage of mass of each
sample was calculated. The calculation was illustrated above. It is determined that,
percentage of mass for benzoic acid was 30.1%, followed by sodium chloride (NaCl) with
percentage of mass 30.1% and also 39.8% for sand fed. In spite of that, the percentage error
for each samples were also calculated after recovery of each samples. In order to calculate the
percentage error of each samples, the mass fraction for each samples fed and also recovered
was taken into considerations.
From the calculation above, the mass fraction of feed samples (Benzoic Acid,
NaCl and Sand) are 0.301, 0.301 and 0.398 respectively. Besides that, the mass fraction of the
recovered samples are 0.241 (Benzoic Acid), 0.329 (Sodium Chloride) and 0.430 (sand).
Next, the percentage of error of each samples and the total error was found. Here, benzoic
acid has percentage of error of 32.1%, percentage of error of 6.79 % for sodium chloride
(NaCl) salt and 7.57 % for sand. The total percentage of error determined was 14.62%.
Hence, from this experiment, it is clearly explained that there are many types of
separation method that can be used to separate a solid mixture. Moreover, the errors occurred
in this experiment could be minimised by repeating this experiment at least thrice to achieve
accuracy. Also, the objectives of this experiment were achieved.

LIMITATIONS AND PRECAUTIONARY STEPS:

1. There might be some solutes left in the beaker while pouring out the solution into the
filter funnel. This may affect the final crystals formed at the end of the experiment.
Therefore, the solution was mixed evenly before pouring the solution.

2. Wash the beaker before using it. Any impurities inside the beaker may affect the mass of
the final crystals.
3. While performing decantation, the solution is poured out slowly because if the solution is
poured out rapidly, this may cause the solids at the bottom of the beaker to be removed
accidentally from the beaker.

CONCLUSION.
There are numerous methods that can be used to separate a mixture. The main method
that was discussed and used in this experiment was filtration. In conclusion, we managed to
successfully separate the substances and determine the percent of each component in the
original mixture. It can therefore be said that the objectives of this experiment were met and
achieved and therefore this experiment was a success.

REFERENCES.
1. Separating Mixture.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/science/chemical_material_behaviour/compounds_mixtu
res
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2. Separation Processes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_process
[Accessed on 10th June 2015]
3. Flitration
http://www.lenntech.com/chemistry/filtration.htm
[Accessed on 10th June 2015]
4. Separation of mixture of a substance
https://www.apsu.edu/files/chemistry/CHEM_1011_Mixture_separation_lab.pdf
[Accessed on 10th June 2015]
5. Decantation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decantation
[Accessed on 10th June 2015]
6. Separation of mixtures
http://m.learning.hccs.edu/faculty/steven.dessens/notes_and_practice/chem_1105/chem1105-lab-handouts/experiment-2-separation-of-a-mixture
[Accessed on 10th June 2015]