Experiment #3:

Simple & Fractional Distillation

Caitlin M. Ocasio
Due 6/4/2020
CHM 201

1
Objective:
The purpose of this experiment is to become familiar with the process of distillation and
differentiate between simple vs. fractional distillation.

Results:
Simple Distillation of Toluene
Time (s) Temp (C) Figure 1: The chart to the left contains data from Part A of the experiment. This was the
120
0 24.5 simple distillation of Toluene over the course of 1135 seconds (about 19 minutes).
60
100 65
65 75.4
temperature (C)

80
70 88.2
75
60 93.1
80 96.9
40
85 102
85
20 105.4
85 108.7
0
85 0 109
200 400 600 800 1000 1200
85 109 time (seconds)
145 109
205 109
265 109
325 109
385 109
445 109
505 109
565 109
625 109
685 109
745 109
805 109
865 109
925 109 Figure 2: The graph above is a scatter plot of data from Figure 1. The temperature
remained constant for the majority of the experiment at 109 degrees Celsius.
985 109
1045 109
1105 109
1110 108.4
1115 104
1120 102.3
1125 98.8
1130 93.1
1135 89

2
Vol (mL) Temp (C)
1 85
2 87
3 88.1
4 89.3
5 90.1
6 91.9
7 92.4
8 93
9 94
10 95.2
11 95.9
12 96.6
13 97
14 98.3
15 99.2
16 101.4
17 103
18 105.3
19 106

3
 Figure 3: The chart to the left
contains data from
Figure Partgraph
4: The B of the
above contains data from Figure 3. Contrary to the graph
experiment, which
from was2,the
Figure simple
there is a constant upwards trend in the temperature over the
distillationcourse
of a cyclohexane and process.
of the distillation
toluene mixture (1:1).

Simple Distillation
Fractional DistillationofofCyclohexane/Toluene
Cyclohexane/Toluene
toMixture
Mixture
Vol (mL) Temp (C) Figure 5: The chart the left
1 82.1 contains data from Part120 C of the
120
2 83.2

(C)
experiment, which was100 100 fractional
the

temperature (C)
3 83.9 distillation of a cyclohexane
80 and

temperature
80
toluene mixture (1:1). 60 60
4 84.6
40
40
5 85.2 20
20
6 85.8 00
00 22 44 66 88 10
10 12
12 14
14 16 18 20
7 86.2
8 86.9 volume (ml)
volume (mL)
9 93.2
10 98.1
11 101.3
12 102.2
13 103
14 103.9
15 104.2
16 104.6
17 105.3 Figure 6: The graph above contains data from Figure 5. Like the data of Figure 4,
18 105.7 there appears to be a general upwards trend with regard to the temperature.
19 106 However, this is a smoother, less steep slope.

Discussion
For Part A of this experiment, the temperature was recorded every 60 seconds. With this in mind,
the data in Figure 1 shows that the collection of distillate slowed down significantly once the
temperature reached 109 degrees Celsius. This temperature is right below the boiling point of
toluene. Distillation ended shortly after the temperature began to decrease, as shown by the
scatter plot curve in Figure 2.
For Parts B and C of this experiment, the temperature was recorded each time 1mL of distillate
was collected. The only difference between Parts B and C were the method of distillation. A
fractional column was added to the distillation apparatus in Part C to perform fractional
distillation. This column is used to separate the liquids since they have a boiling point difference
less than 25 degrees C. It should be noted that the process of fractional distillation appeared to
occur much more gradually than the simple distillation of Part B. In the end, both distillation
setups reached the same final temperature (106 degrees). The final temperature is lower than that
of Part A since the mixture lowers the overall boiling point of the compounds. This impact was
studied during Experiment #1.

Post-Lab Questions:

4
1. Fractional distillation provides better separation because of the use of the fractional
column in the lab setup. This allows the liquids in the mixture to travel through the
stacked beads/plates inside the column before finally entering the condenser.
2. Simple distillation would be best for A and B due to the great difference in boiling point.
Fractional distillation would be best for C due to the smaller difference in boiling point.
3. The liquid at the top likely has a lower boiling point than the liquid at the bottom since it
will have evaporated and traveled through the column first.
4. It is dangerous to perform distillation in a closed system because the build up of heat and
gas inside the apparatus can cause the glassware to crack or explode.
5. Fast distillation is not ideal since it increases the risk of the distillate containing traces of
the original mixture, rather than being as pure as possible.