<P> 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 . </P> <Ul> <Li> Filtration is used to separate particles and fluid in a suspension, where the fluid can be a liquid, a gas or a supercritical fluid . Depending on the application, either one or both of the components may be isolated . </Li> </Ul>

Property of earth to allow water to pass through it is known as