barrier separation

In chemistry, separation processes are used to isolate and refine components from a mixture. These methods transform a mixed sample into samples of single substances by changing the relative amounts of components. Separations can be classified by the quantity of material processed, or by the physical or chemical phenomena used.

One category of separation is based on rate phenomena, which exploit differences in kinetic properties like diffusion rates through semipermeable barriers. These are known as barrier separations. Examples include membrane filtration, dialysis, ultrafiltration, electrodialysis, and reverse osmosis. These processes are time-dependent and rely on factors such as molecular size and the ability to pass through a porous membrane.1