How are column and paper chromatography similar? How are they different?

Answer 1

Paper Chromatography is a capillary-action chromatography.
This is an older technique which involves placing a small dot of sample solution onto a strip of chromatography paper. The paper is placed into a jar containing a shallow layer of solvent and sealed. As the solvent rises through the paper it meets the sample mixture which starts to travel up the paper with the solvent. Different compounds in the sample mixture travel different distances according to how strongly they interact with the paper. This allows the calculation of an Rf value and can be compared to standard compounds to aid in the identification of an unknown substance.
Column chromatography is advantageous over most other chromatographic techniques because it can be used in both analytical and preparative applications. Not only can column chromatography be used to determine the number of components of a mixture, but it can also be used to separate and purify substantial quantities of those components for subsequent analysis. This is in contrast to paper chromatography, which is solely an analytical method.