Distillation Simple, Fractional, and the Quest for Stronger Spirits Organic Chemistry CHM2210C-41963 (WALSH) 01/29/2013 Tejal

Mehta 02/07/2013 Lab Partner: Roxanne Green

Title: Distillation: Simple, Fractional and the Quest for Stronger Spirits Summery: Fractional distillation makes it possible to extract individual liquids from a mixture of substances. It's what produces gasoline for and spirits for cocktails. Fractional distillation can be performed in a lab using Bunsen burners, beakers and glass columns a couple of feet tall, or in giant facilities such as oil refineries with "fractionating towers" that rise hundreds of feet. http://www.ehow.com/about_6453799_fractional-distillation-useful_.html In this lab we did two types of distillation 1. Simple 2. Fractional (two types of fractional known and unknown). I think distillation process is quiet fascinating in terms of the whole process in how certain liquids evaporate leaving the mixture of compounds (simple distillation). Where areas, fractional distillation is where two or more liquids or liquids with the same boiling points are separated where simple distillation will not work. Fractional distillation is more accurate and the process is quiet tedious and requires patients to be done but the end results are satisfying if everything is done accurately. Fraction distillation separates each component in fractions of a mixture so it can be collected separately. Introduction: Simple vs. Fractional distillation

Simple distillation consists of a distillation head and condenser. The first liquid will boil, the vapor will condense, and it will be collected. This is quicker but not as complete and accurate. For example; salt and water; in which you can just boil the water away. In the case of our lab experiment we used mixture of ethanol/water. Fractional distillation consists of a distillation head, fractionating column, and condenser. The fractioning column is packed with a copper or steel sponge making the surface area larger and good heat transfer between ascending vapors and descending liquid. It makes better overall separation and this allows for multiple simple distillations to take place within the column. Calculations: Simple vs. Fractional Distillation ehtanol/water
120 Temp. in Celsius 100 80 60 40 20 0
ip 1m l 2m l 3m l 4m l 5m l l l 1s t l 10 m l 11 m l 12 m l 13 m l 14 m l 15 m l 6m 7m 8m dr 9m

Simple Fractional

Volume (mL)

Fractional of unknown B (Water)

Temerature in Celsius 120 100 80 60 40 20 0
l l l l l l l ip 2m 4m 6m 8m 10 m 12 m 14 m 1s t 16 m dr l

Fractional of unknown B

Volume (mL)

Amount of 1st compound/total amount of solution = x 100 = % composition 15mL/50mL = 30mL Simple Distillation 12.1mL/50mL = 24.2mL Fractional Distillation Unknown Compound B: was Water 16mL/50mL = 32mL Results and Discussion: According to the results of our experiment and looking at the graph it seems like the mixture of ethanol/water was an azeotrope. Which is also called minimum boiling mixtures or pressure maximum Azeotrope. I think in our experiment we were supplied with the azeotrope mixture of 95% ethanol/5% water. True boiling point of Ethanol is at 78.4 degree Celsius, and water is 100 degree Celsius, but our product had a first drip at 78.5 degree Celsius in fractional distillation, and at 82 degree Celsius for simple distillation; which is lower than either of its constituents that helps us determine that the mixture was an azeotrope. As you can see per results fractional distillation is much more accurate than simple, because the boiling point of azeotrope ethanol/water is around 78.00 degree Celsius and according to our results it came out to be 78.5 degree Celsius. And, simple distillation boiling point was quiet off it was 82 degrees Celsius. So, basically it is almost impossible to separate azeotrope of ethanol/water. Because of many causes such as partial pressure changes the vapors and another main factor is the hydrogen bonding interactions. Both of them have OH group which exhibit strong molecular bonds that are not easily broken. So when it evaporates it evaporates water from both ethanol/water. Something that I just learned about this azeotrope that is has a really great importance in the industry and product making; where it makes it possible to design an azeotrope where the content consists of a flammable and a nonflammable chemical that overall demonstrates nonflammable characteristics. Since the chemicals don't separate during evaporation, spills will not result in hazardous fire conditions.

The purpose of packing is to increase the surface area and good heat transfer between ascending vapors and descending liquid for better overall separation in our experiment copper sponge was used for this purpose. It is unsafe as well as dangerous to distillate in closed system, because the gases of the system increases the volume (take up more volume than liquid and no space for it to leave) in the closed system and eventually exploding the system shattering the glasses; hot liquid and hot gas all over the place. Conclusion: After looking at the data above and plotting the graph we can conclude that fractional distillation is far accurate than simple distillation. In ethanol and water experiment in the simple distillation the temperature shot up high quickly condensing less accurate product. While in fractional distillation; it seemed like the temperature wasnt just going up it moved 0.1-0.5 Celsius degrees at a time; and than shot up 10 Celsius degree, so this is the way it is more accurate to distillate.

Table of Boiling Point Unknowns Unknown Compound Water

Experimental Point (oC ) Fractional : 78.5 Simple: 82

Boiling Point (oC) 100.0

The unknown mixture that I used was water. Also, the mixture of ethanol and water we used was an azeotrope. The percent composition of my water and unknown is: Amount of 1st compound/total amount of solution = x 100 = % composition 15mL/50mL = 0.3 x 100 = 30mL Simple Distillation of ethanol/water azeotrope 12.1mL/50mL = 0.242 x 100 = 24.2mL Fractional Distillation ethanol/water azeotrope Unknown Compound B: was Water 16mL/50mL = 0.32 x 100 = 32mL The yield of the simple distillation of ethanol/water azeotrope was much higher than what it should be that lets us know that it was little impure and that it also had traces of ethanol in it. And, the yield of fractional distillation was almost there just few mL less than 25ml; this lets us know that it was far more accurate and pure than simple distillation. My unknown compound was water. It was quiet accurate with less yield of product. If I had kept going I could have gotten more pure water and almost 50mL of water since it was only water we were distilling. It was pretty accurate the temperature jumped at 98 degree Celsius according to the table of boiling points of unknown I can only think of water to be my unknown compound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azeotrope http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-azeotrope.htm