THE simple distillation is a physical method of separating homogeneous mixtures, formed exclusively by a solid dissolved in a solvent (liquid), which separates the liquid component from the solid component, such as sodium chloride (NaCl) and water (H2O).
This method should always be used when the objective is to obtain, at the end of the separation, the liquid and the solid that was dissolved in it separated in different containers. This does not happen when we perform the evaporation method on a homogeneous mixture of NaCl and H2O, for example, since, when water evaporates, only the salt remains in the container, as the water spreads into the air in the form of vapor.
To perform a simple distillation, you materials that can be used are:
tripod (It works as a support for the asbestos screen or for the distillation or round bottom flask);
asbestos screen (used to absorb part of the heat from the bunsen burner);
Bunsen burner (Equipment that uses gas to produce the flame that heats the mixture inside the distillation flask or round bottom);
NOTE: the three pieces of equipment above can be replaced by an electric heating plate)
distillation flask (glass equipment that receives the mixture). It can be replaced with a round-bottomed balloon;
condenser (glass equipment whose function is to transform steam into liquid);
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beaker or erlenmeyer (both are glass equipment whose function is to collect the liquid formed inside the condenser);
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thermometer (used to perform temperature control during the experiment);
Universal support with claw (set of equipment for fixing and supporting the condenser, as well as the balloon, if necessary).
The following image represents a simple distillation equipment that contains most of the materials that were described above:
Equipment that make up a simple distiller
The working principle of a simple distillation it's very simple. Initially, add the mixture to be separated into the distillation flask or round bottom. Then turn on the bunsen burner or the heating plate so that the mixture starts to heat up. As the mixture is formed by a solid and a liquid, only the liquid begins to undergo the physical phenomenon of boiling (transition from the liquid state to the vapor state).
As soon as the liquid boils, its vapor necessarily enters the interior of the condenser because the upper outlet of the balloon is obstructed by a wooden stopper precisely to prevent escape. Upon entering the condenser, the vapor undergoes the phenomenon of condensation (physical transformation of matter from a vapor state to a liquid state). Finally, the liquid formed inside the condenser falls into the equipment that was positioned at the condenser outlet for collection.
By Me. Diogo Lopes Dias
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
DAYS, Diogo Lopes. "Simple distillation"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/destilacao-simples.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
