Lab partner: Devashaun
Hamilton
Organic Chemistry 331L,
Section 002
Dr. Jenifer D’Antonio
Date: October 8, 2014
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ABSTRACT
Distillation is a process by which one liquid can be separated from another liquid, or a liquid from a nonvolatile solid. In this experiment, the distillations of cyclohexane and toluene mixture were carried out. The purpose of this experiment is to compare the efficiency of simple distillation versus fractional distillation for separation of a mixture of toluene and cyclohexane. The mixture was first separated using simple distillation. A simple distillation apparatus was set up and a Thermowell heater containing sand will also be used as the heat source. The mixture will be slowly heated and condensed. The temperature as a function of the number of drops will again be recorded. Afterwards, fractional distillation apparatus was set up, and the mixture was brought to a boil and slowly condensed. The temperature as a function of the number of drops was recorded. It was observed that fractional distillation was better at separation than simple distillation. It is important to learn the distillation technique because it is used in purifying compounds.
INTRODUCTION
Distillation is a widely used technique for purifying liquids. The basic distillation process involves heating a liquid such that liquid molecules vaporize. The vapors produced are subsequently passed through a water-cooled condenser1. Upon cooling, the vapor returns to its liquid phase. The liquid can then be collected.
The ability to separate mixtures of liquids depends on differences in volatility
(the ability to vaporize). For separation to occur, the vapor that is condensed and
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collected must be more pure than the original liquid mix1. Distillation can be used to remove a volatile solvent from a nonvolatile product; to separate a volatile product from nonvolatile impurities; or to separate two or more volatile