Distillation Lab

Distillation is a process in which compounds that are in the same solution become separated by their boiling points. For this to occur, a heterogeneous mixture has to be placed into a distiller, in this experiment a solution of 1:1 water and methanol was distilled. When distilling substances there are various methods of distillation that can be used. In this lab, simple and fractional distillation was used.
The simple distiller is composed of a 100ml round bottom flask that is attached to: a 3-way adapter, thermometer, condenser and vacuum adapter. The apparatus is heated up by placing a powermeter at the bottom of the 100ml round flask. When the temperature becomes high enough to effect the boiling point of one of the compounds in the solution, vapor is created. The gas then travels down the condenser where it condenses back into a liquid. The distilled liquid is then collected by placing a tube on the bottom of the condensing tube. In this cause, the
Like simple distillation, the apparatus is made up of a 100ml round bottom flash that is attached to: a 3-way adapter, thermometer, condenser and vacuum adapter. However, in this set up, there is an additional piece added called the fractioning Column, which is a condenser packed with steel wool. This addition completely changes the system by creating more surface area for the vapor to travel through. The increase in surface area prevents the gas from immediately entering the condenser, enabling the steel wool to separate the gas by differences in vapor pressure. When the vapor exits the fractional column, it condenses into a liquid when it reaches the condensing tube, and then it leaves the apparatus to become the distillate. Because fractional distillation has a fractionation tube, the two separated liquids are more pure than those that are the product of a simple distillation (Snelling