What Is the Definition of Simple Distillation?
Distillation is one way to separate the substances in a solution. Perhaps one of the most romantic examples of simple distillation is the manufacture of "corn whiskey" in Depression era back-country stills. The process of heating and condensing to purify substances, known as "simple distillation" is used to produce paint thinners, desalinized water and fine wines as well as the "white lightning" of the 1930s.
Other People Are Reading
-
Identification
-
Distillation separates compounds using a closed system consisting of a "still" to which heat is applied, a "condenser" in which the vaporized substance cools to a liquid and a "receiver" that captures the condensed liquid. Substances are separated and vaporized by applying heat until the still reaches the "boiling point" of the substance that is to be separated.
Why It Works
-
Every compound has a singular point at which it changes form, or "phase," from liquid to vapor, or gas. As every moonshiner knows, this point for ethyl alcohol is 64.7 degrees C (about 145.5 degrees F). Ethanol, another light alcohol product, vaporizes at 78 degrees C (172.4 degrees F). In simple distillation, the still is heated just to the boiling point for the target compound. Its vapor is channeled through the condenser, which is cooled, usually by water, until the pure compound returns to its liquid phase as it drops into the receiver. Simple distillation works best when the boiling point of the target compound is much lower than the overall boiling point of the total solution in the still.
-
Types
-
In addition to simple distillation, several other methodologies are used. Fractional distillation, a process that separates more than one substance at a time, is used when boiling points are close together or mixtures are complex. Vacuum distillation is used for applications like medicines and cosmetics where substance purity is very important. Fractional distillation is more complex because of the need for a longer still process and separate condensing apparatus but can be operated continuously. Vacuum distillation may be used with either simple or fractional types of distillation but requires careful control because vacuums tend to lower boiling points.
Advantages
-
Simple distillation uses a simpler apparatus, consumes less energy and works faster than other types of distillation. This provides an advantage in economy for manufacturers. When purer compounds are required, as with liquor producers who need to meet a uniform alcohol content, "or "proof", requirement for their product, the process is repeated.
History
-
The first mention of the process of simple distillation appears in India and China around 800 B.C. in the production of beer and rice wine. Jabir Ibn Hayyan, the eighth century Arabian father of modern chemistry, conducted experiments in distillation. The French began distilling beer in the 16th century and the Irish began producing whiskey in the 17th. The first documented coal oil was distilled in 1726 by an Englishman. Throughout the next centuries, simple distillation was used to produce dyes, petroleum products, cosmetic preparations and even paraffin wax.
Effects
-
Simple distillation makes thousands of products possible, from white vinegar to extra-extra virgin olive oil, beer to vodka, solvents, household cleaners, face creams, hair dyes and more. Simple distillation helps make production simple and economical, creating more products for consumers.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Public Domain
