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.
Filtration is a process used to separate solids from liquids or gases using a filter medium that allows the fluid to pass, but not the solid. The term "filtration" applies whether the filter is mechanical, biological, or physical. The fluid that passes through the filter is called the filtrate. The filter medium may be a surface filter, which is a solid that traps solid particles, or a depth filter, which is a bed of material that traps the solid.
Filtration is typically an imperfect process. Some fluid remains on the feed side of the filter or embedded in the filter media and some small solid particulates find their way through the filter. As a chemistry and engineering technique, there is always some lost product, whether it's the liquid or solid being collected.There are two types of filtration: mechanical and biological. Mechanical filters remove debris, such as algae mats and leaves.
Gas filtration. Examples of gas filtration are common in everyday life. For example, every time a vacuum cleaner runs, it passes a stream of dust-filled air through a filtering bag inside the machine. Solid particles are trapped within the bag, while clean air passes out through the machine.
Filtration is technically defined as the process of separating suspended solid matter from a liquid, by causing the latter to pass through the pores of a membrane, called a filter. The most common example is making of tea. While preparing tea, a filter or a sieve is used to separate tea leaves from the water.
