Distillation is a separation technique used to separate components of a liquid mixture based on differences in their boiling points. The process involves heating the mixture to selectively boil one component, then cooling and condensing the vapor to collect the separated component. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Heating: The liquid mixture is heated in a distillation apparatus. The component with the lower boiling point will vaporize first.
2. Vaporization: As the temperature rises, the component with the lower boiling point turns into vapor.
3. Separation: The vapor rises and moves into a condenser.
4. Condensation: The condenser cools the vapor, causing it to condense back into a liquid.
5. Collection: The condensed liquid (the distilled component) is collected in a separate container.
6. Residue: The component with the higher boiling point remains in the original container.

Example: Separating Water and Ethanol

Imagine you have a mixture of water (boiling point 100°C) and ethanol (boiling point 78.37°C).

1. Heating: The mixture is heated.
2. Vaporization: Ethanol, having a lower boiling point, vaporizes first.
3. Separation: The ethanol vapor rises into the condenser.
4. Condensation: The condenser cools the ethanol vapor, turning it back into liquid ethanol.
5. Collection: The liquid ethanol is collected.
6. Residue: Water, with its higher boiling point, remains in the original container.

This process allows you to separate and collect ethanol from the water-ethanol mixture.

Distillation is commonly used in various applications, including the production of alcoholic beverages, purification of chemicals, and desalination of water.

For more information, you can refer to these resources:

• LibreTexts - Distillation
• Britannica - Distillation