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Types of Distillation Techniques
Simple Distillation:
Simple distillation is used to separate and collect solvent from a solution of solutes, or in a mixture of two different liquids with different boiling points by use of heat.
Simple distillation is used for a mixture in which the boiling point of the components differ by at least 158°F (70°C). In this process, the liquids are separated by evaporating and capturing them at various cooling points by use of a condenser.
Simple distillation works the same as that of evaporation. The only difference is that a closed distillation flask is used to hold the mixture to be heated, with an opening/tube connected to a condenser.
As water-acetone mixture is heated, water boil and changes into water vapor gas. Since hot air rises and cold air sinks, the hot acetone vapor moves to the top of the flask and passes into the condenser.
The tubes on the condenser are attached to a water source, with the water flowing in through the lower end and flowing out through the higher end of the condenser. This creates a cooler surface for the hot acetone vapor to condense on. As the condenser is tilted downwards towards the collecting container at the end of the setup, the condensed acetone flows and drips into the collecting container.
Applications of simple distillation:
- Separation of acetone and water.
- Distillation of alcohol.
Fractional distillation
Fractional distillation is used to separate miscible liquids with different but very close boiling point. This method is more efficient than simple distillation.
Fractionating column is used to separate constituents whose volatility is nearly similar or differs by 77°F (25°C, at 1 atmosphere pressure) and which cannot be separated by simple distillation.
A fractionating column is introduced between the distillation flask and the condenser. A simple fractionating column is a tube packed with glass beads. The beads provide surface for the vapors to cool and condense repeatedly.
The upper portion of the column, which is closer to the condenser, is cooler than the lower portion and hence, only gases with the same temperature as the upper portion are allowed to pass on to the condenser. On the other hand, the gases with higher boiling points will condense and flow back to the bottom into the distillation flask, and is heated into a gas again. At the end, liquid with the lowest boiling point will be the first to boil and hence the first to be distilled out and collected.
When vapors of a mixture are passed through the fractionating column, because of the repeated condensation and evaporation, the vapors of the liquid with the lower boiling point first pass out of the fractionating column, condense and are collected in the receiver flask. The other liquid, with a slightly higher boiling point, can be collected in similar fashion in another receiver flask.
It is a more effective and easier to use process, compared to simple distillation method. It is, however, relatively expensive than any other types of distillation.
Applications:
- Separation of different fractions from petroleum products.
- Separation of a mixture of methanol and ethanol.
Double distillation
Double distillation is a process of repeating distillation of the collected liquid, in order to enhance the purity of the separated compounds. This method can be used to obtain pure drinking water out of hard or contaminated water and also used to make homemade perfumes, liquor, and soaps.
Steam distillation
Steam distillation is used for the purification of mixtures in which the components are heat sensitive; for example, organic compounds.
In this process, steam is introduced to the apparatus and the temperature of the compounds are depressed, by vaporizing them at lower temperature. This way, the heat sensitive compounds are separated before decomposition.
The vapors are collected and condensed in the same way as other distillation types. The resultant liquid consists of two part, water and compound, which is then purified by using simple distillation..
The process requires some initial training and skill to operate the equipment. It also requires periodic maintenance. Steam distillation is widely used for large-scale separation of essential oils, fats, waxes, and perfumes.
Vacuum distillation
Vacuum distillation is a special method of separating compounds at pressure lower than the standard atmospheric pressure. Under this condition, the compounds boil below their normal boiling temperature. Hence, vacuum distillation is best suited for separation of compounds with higher boiling points (more than 392°F), which tend to decompose at their boiling temperature.
Vacuum distillation can be conducted without heating the mixture, as is usually followed in other distillation types. For the separation of some aromatic compounds, vacuum distillation is used along with steam distillation. When vacuum distillation is combined with fractional distillation method, components of a mixture get separated very easily.
Continuous distillation
Continuous distillation is an ongoing separation process in which a liquid mixture of two or more miscible components are continuously fed into the process and allowed to continue physically separating++ into two or more products by preferentially boiling the more volatile components out of the mixture. Large-scale, continuous distillation is very commonly used in the chemical process industries where large quantities of liquids have to be distilled, as in petroleum refining, natural gas processing, petrochemical production, hydrocarbon solvents production, coal tar processing, the liquefaction of gases such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and helium), and other low-temperature processing.