Separating funnel

A separating funnel (also called a separation funnel) is a piece of laboratory glassware. It is usually used to separate two liquids, for example, oil and water.

For this example, oil and water will be used:

A mixture of oil and water is put into a separating funnel and then shaken and then left until it becomes stable again. The liquid with higher density, (in this case water), goes to the bottom of the separating funnel (because liquids with higher density sink). When this is done, the bottom of the separating funnel is opened, and the water can flow out, leaving only the oil on top.

A separating funnel is a cone shape made from glass but has a half circle, or hemisphere, on top. It has a stopper at the top and tap or hole at the bottom. The size of one can be between 50 millilitres and 3 litres.

• Static mixer

• Use of a separatory funnel or "How to do an upscale extraction", UCLA Archived 2020-02-17 at the Wayback Machine