1.1.7

Separating Mixtures 2

Test yourself

Distillation

Distillation is a special technique used to separate mixtures of liquids. It uses the different boiling points of liquids to separate them. There are 2 types of distillation:

Illustrative background for Simple distillationIllustrative background for Simple distillation ?? "content

Simple distillation

  • Separates 2 liquids with different boiling points.
    • The mixture is heated until the liquid with the lower boiling point starts to boil.
    • The vapour released passes through a condenser, where the gas cools back into a liquid.
  • Simple distillation can also separate a solute from a solvent, when the solvent has a lower boiling point than the solute.
Illustrative background for Fractional distillationIllustrative background for Fractional distillation ?? "content

Fractional distillation

  • Separates lots of liquids with different boiling points.
    • The mixture is slowly heated until the liquid with the lowest boiling point boils and then condenses.
    • Then we increase temperature slowly to collect (boil then condense) the other fractions.

Jump to other topics

1Atomic Structure

2Chemical Bonding

3Quantitative Chemistry

4Chemical Changes

5Energy Changes

6The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change

7Organic Chemistry

8Chemical Analysis

9Chemistry of the Atmosphere

10Using Resources

Go student ad image

Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring

  • Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home

  • Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs

  • 30+ school subjects covered

Book a free trial lesson