Decantation - Decantation is a process to separate mixtures by removing a liquid layer that is free of a

precipitate. The purpose may be to obtain a decant (liquid free from particulates) or to recover the
precipitate. Decantation relies on gravity to pull precipitate out of solution, so there is always some loss
of product, either from precipitate not fully falling out of solution or from leaving some liquid when
separating it from the solid portion.

Supernatant liquid - Precipitation is the creation of a solid from a solution. When the reaction occurs in
a liquid solution, the solid formed is called the 'precipitate'. The chemical that causes the solid to form is
called the 'precipitant'. Without sufficient force of gravity (settling) to bring the solid particles together,
the precipitate remains in suspension. After sedimentation, (settling of the solid) especially when using a
centrifuge to press it into a compact mass, the precipitate may be referred to as a 'pellet'. Precipitation
can be used as a medium. The precipitate-free liquid remaining above the solid is called the 'supernate'
or 'supernatant'. Powders derived from precipitation have also historically been known as 'flowers'.
Precipitation reactions can be used for making pigments, removing salts from water in water treatment,
and in classical qualitative inorganic analysis.Precipitation is also useful to isolate the products of a
reaction during workup. Ideally, the product of the reaction is insoluble in the reaction solvent. Thus, it
precipitates as it is formed, preferably forming pure crystals.

filtrate – a liquid that has passed through a filter.

Filtration – Filtration is any of various mechanical, physical or biological operations that separate solids
from fluids (liquids or gases) by adding a medium through which only the fluid can pass. The fluid that
passes through is called the filtrate. In physical filters oversize solids in the fluid are retained and in
biological filters particulates are trapped and ingested and metabolites are retained and removed.
However, the separation is not complete; solids will be contaminated with some fluid and filtrate will
contain fine particles (depending on the pore size, filter thickness and biological activity). Filtration
occurs both in nature and in engineered systems; there are biological, geological, and industrial forms.
For example, in animals (including humans), renal filtration removes wastes from the blood, and in
water treatment and sewage treatment, undesirable constituents are removed by absorption into a
biological film grown on or in the filter medium, as in slow sand filtration.

Residue - Residue may be the material remaining after a process of preparation, separation, or
purification, such as distillation, evaporation, or filtration. It may also denote the undesired by-products
of a chemical reaction.