Separatory funnel

[1] Typically, one of the phases will be aqueous, and the other a lipophilic organic solvent such as ether, MTBE, dichloromethane, chloroform, or ethyl acetate.

On top of the funnel there is a standard taper joint which fits with a ground glass or Teflon stopper.

The funnel is then inverted and the stopcock carefully opened to release excess vapor pressure.

The top must be opened while releasing the lower phase to allow pressure equalization between the inside of the funnel and the atmosphere.

When the separating funnel is agitated, each solute migrates to the solvent (also referred to as "phase") in which it is more soluble.

If the emulsion is not separated by this process, a small amount of saturated saline solution is added ("salting out").

This problem can be easily handled by simply opening the stopper at the top of the funnel routinely while mixing.

More standard procedure is to invert the separating funnel upside down, and open the stopcock to release the pressure, a step done repeatedly known as 'venting'.