The individual substances in a mixture can be separated using different methods, depending on the type of mixture. These methods include filtration, evaporation, distillation and chromatography.
If a substance does not dissolve in a solvent, we say that it is insoluble. For example, sand does not dissolve in water – it is insoluble.
Filtration is a method for separating an insoluble solid from a liquid. When a mixture of sand and water is filtered:
The slideshow shows how filtration works: