DISTILLATION

Definitions:
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatility (vapour
pressure) of the components in a boiling liquid mixture.

It can also be defined as a method of separating chemical substances based on differences in their
volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture.

It is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction. It is used to
extract volatile active principles from vegetable drugs or to separate volatile substances from less
volatile impurities.

Distillation may be defined as the separation of the constituents of a mixture including a liquid
by partial vaporization of the mixture and separate and collect the vapor. For example,
distillation of water.

Separation by distillation may include;

(i) separation of one liquid from non-volatile impurities.
(ii) separation of one liquid from one or more other liquids, with which it may be miscible,
partially-miscible or immiscible

TYPES OF DISTILLATION
1. Simple Distillation: this type of distillation is used when the boiling points of two liquids
are significantly different from each other, to separate liquids from solids or nonvolatile
components. Simple distillation happens through a process of heating and cooling liquids
in order to separate and purify them. First, a liquid is heated, producing a vapor. Then,
that vapor is cooled in a small tube called a condenser, in order to form a separate liquid.
That separate liquid, sometimes referred to as the distillate, falls from the condenser into
a separate container. The process works because the two liquids in the original liquid
vaporize at different points, meaning the vapor that is created is comprised entirely of just
one of the liquids.