You are provided with a mixture of petroleum and water. Suggest a method to separate the two.
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Solution
Immiscible liquids:
The liquids which do not mix with each other are known as immiscible liquids.
The mixture of petroleum and water is an example of immiscible liquids as two separate layers are formed when the two are mixed.
The immiscible liquids can be separated by physical methods like Decantation.
Separating funnel can also be used to separate them.
Decantation:
The process of separating a mixture of solid and liquid and immiscible liquids is known as decantation.
It is a technique used to separate a petroleum and water mixture.
By removing the liquid layer at the top from the layer of solid or liquid below.
After pouring out the top layer, the mixture can be tilted to complete the process. When we remove the oil and water mixture, two distinct layers form, with the water at the bottom and the lighter oil at the top. Pouring it into another vessel will allow us to get rid of the oil layer at the top, leaving the water layer behind.
In the above example, the upper layer of oil can be poured into another vessel or container thus separating the two liquids.
