If they were in a real hurry, they could add a vacuum pump to the filter and flask, to pull the particle-free solution through the filter faster. There were limitations to such filtration systems, though, such as trying to remove the rubber stopper holding the funnel from the flask, after the vacuum had pulled it tightly into the neck.
While filter paper and funnels will always have a place in chemistry labs, over the last decade filters made of materials such as polysulfone, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and cellulose acetate--and systems that speed the filtration process--have all but replaced the paper rounds in the laboratories of life scientists.
For example, using membrane filters in vacuum filtration systems, microbiologists can collect and analyze microbes in samples of food and water, and environmental engineers can assess air quality in buildings or outside. Cell biologists sterilize culture media by passing their delicate mixtures of amino ...
