Distillation

Distillation is a process of separating the component substances from a liquid mixture by selective vaporization and condensation. Distillation may result in essentially complete separation (nearly pure components), or it may be a partial separation that increases the concentration of selected components of the mixture. In either case the process exploits differences in the volatility of mixture's components. In industrial chemistry, distillation is a unit operation of practically universal importance, but it is a physical separation process and not a chemical reaction.

Laboratory display of distillation: 1: A source of heat 2: Still pot 3: Still head 4:Thermometer/Boiling point temperature 5: Condenser 6: Cooling water in 7:Cooling water out 8: Distillate/receiving flask 9: Vacuum/gas inlet 10: Still receiver 11: Heat control 12: Stirrer speed control 13: Stirrer/heat plate 14:Heating (Oil/sand) bath 15: Stirring means e.g. (shown), boiling chips or mechanical stirrer 16: Cooling bath.

Automatic Distillation Unit for the determination of the boiling range of petroleum products at atmospheric pressure

Diagram of a typical industrial distillation tower

Section of an industrial distillation tower showing detail of trays with bubble caps