This work describes the fundamentals and evolution of two current solid-liquid separation methods found in the chemical laboratory: the filter paper and the centrifuge. Both methods were developed in the 19th century and are recognized as valuable techniques for industrial and laboratory purposes. However, significant improvements were introduced only from the end of the 19th century. The classical manual centrifuge was replaced by electric models: safety, maximum speed and number of samples that can be centrifuged at a time were greatly increased. The manufacture of filter paper was initially done by hand, but later benefited from papermaking industrial technologies. Many pretreatments of the wooden fibers were developed, particularly after 1880, thus resulting in many filter paper types for qualitative and quantitative applications. These two separation techniques are also found in various procedures in our everyday life.
Keywords:
solid-fluid separation; filtration; centrifugation; filter paper; centrifuge
