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As you will have surely found out during your research, various separation methods can be used depending on the type of mixture to separate mixtures back into their individual components.
Here you will find an overview of the most common separation methods.
To separate a mixture like felt-tip pen ink, the separation method chromatography is best suited.
Chromatography refers to all physico-chemical separation methods in which the separation process is based on the distribution of sample components between a mobile and a stationary phase.
The mobile phase, also called the mobile phase, can be liquid (liquids), gaseous (gases), or supercritical (state between liquid and gaseous) and moves through the chromatographic system. It is responsible for dissolving and transporting the sample components.
The stationary phase consists of solid or liquid substances that are immobile, e.g., in a column within the chromatographic system. In column chromatography, the stationary phase is filled into a column, in thin-layer chromatography it is applied to plates, or in paper chromatography, it consists of paper.
Various forces interact between the mobile phase, the stationary phase, and the sample. This leads to the components of the sample mixture being separated on their way through the stationary phase and thus remaining at different locations on the stationary phase or leaving the column one after another.
Types of Chromatography
The different types of chromatography are often classified according to the type of mobile and stationary phase:
In gas chromatography, the mobile phase is gaseous.
In the various types of liquid chromatography (paper chromatography, column chromatography (including HPLC), and thin-layer chromatography), the mobile phase is liquid.
Click on the hotspots in this diagram to learn more about the individual types of chromatography.
You will learn about several types of liquid chromatography in this mission: paper chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).