Answer:
They are separated by a liquid-liquid extraction by difference in solubility.
Explanation:
Liquid-liquid extraction is a basic operation, of a physical nature, whose purpose is the separation of two or more components of a liquid mixture by the addition of a solvent in which one or more components are preferably soluble. In this case you can separate SiO2 and TeO2 by extraction, using hydrofluoric acid as a solvent because SiO2 is soluble in said acid and TeO2 is not.
To separate and isolate them, the solution of SiO2 and TeO2 is placed in a separating or separating funnel, the acid and an organic solvent immiscible with the acid are added, the funnel is covered and stirred, in order to establish a good contact between the two. phases The total amount of the compound present in the initial solution will be partitioned between the acid phase and the aqueous phase according to the solubilities of said compound, forming two layers. Subsequently, by separating the separating funnel, the two phases are separated.
