Q&A for How to Separate Salt from Water

You can separate salt from water in solution via evaporation (if you don't need the purified water) or distillation (if you'd like to keep the purified water).

The easiest and least expensive way would be to use the pot method described in this article. You can also use a laboratory distillation apparatus if you have access to one.

No, because it is a homogeneous mixture. You need to use heat and evaporation in order to separate salt from water.

Distillation is how you separate a pure liquid from a mixture, in this case you are removing pure water from salt water. Sorry to tell you, but teachers are human and not always correct. More likely - whatever the lesson was on, distillation was not a proper response. So sometimes you might not be wrong, but still not have the correct answer.

There are few dangers that come with this method. Electrocution seems an obvious one, but as long as you aren’t using a high voltage electricity source, it’s safe. There is also the danger of electrolysis, which would generate hydrogen and chlorine gas, but that risk is very low. Finally, there is the danger of impaling yourself with sharp electrodes, but that’s also very unlikely. Overall, it's a safe activity to do with kids as long as basic safety precautions are taken.

Immiscible liquids are two liquids that when mixed do not combine together; for example, water and oil.

If you cook salt water until it boils (100°C+) the water will evaporate and becomes vaporous, the salt stays untouched because it doesn't react to heat. It's chemistry because the kitchen apparatus apparently has something to do with the relationshop between water, which is boiling and salt. It's just an object that causes heat, you can use other things instead of it that lead to the same solution. So this specific thing actually doesn't have to do anything with chemistry at all, it's just the salt, water, and heat that are chemistry-related.

You did nothing wrong, this is simply an oversimplification of electrodialysis. If you carry out this method as described, you'll only succeed to electrolyze the dissolved sodium chloride, resulting in hydrogen gas and chlorine. Chlorine gas is poisonous, so be careful.

The easiest way is to find the saltiest water possible and distill it. This would leave all the salt behind in the pot and the water would be completely separate, allowing you to do whatever you would like with the two materials.

As shown with unusual methods, there are other ways to remove salt from water, such as Reverse Osmosis, Electrodialysis, or Decanoic Acid.

Water has a lower boiling point, so it can evaporate while the salt is stuck as a solid.

It depends on the amount of water. Typically, one cup of water should take about an hour.