Methodology

2.1 Materials

 Heating mantle  Thermometer

 Distillation Flask  Heating plate
 500mL suction  Glycerol and water
flask solution
 3 empty Flasks  Methanol-water solution
 Pump  Ethanol-water solution
 Condenser  Ice
 Lab jack

For glycerol-water solution, a distillation apparatus was constructed. It consisted of a heating

plate, a distillation flask where the mixture was placed, a condenser that connected the collection flask,
a lab jack to hold the flasks & mantle, and a thermometer to monitor the temperature. In this
experiment, three empty flasks were used to contain the collected distillate. Methanol-water solution
was also used to prove the hypotheses made in the middle of the experiment.

Ethanol-water solution was used for the separation of homogenous mixtures. Similar to the first
experiment, a distillation apparatus was also used. However, an error thus a suction flask, ice, heating
plate, pump, and a rubber hose was used to lower the pressure on the mixture.

2.1 Distillation Apparatus

For this experiment, a distillation apparatus was constructed, see Figure 2. A thermometer,
distillation flask, heating mantle, condenser, cooling water, and a collecting flask were the required
equipment needed for the instrument. First, a heating mantle was placed on the lab jack. Then a
distillation flask that contained 1 mole of glycerol and 4 moles of water was installed at the top of the
condenser where the mantle was placed. At the bottom of the condenser, an empty flask was set to
serve as a collector. After the installation, the mole percent of water was calculated using the formula
below:

(Mole of compound / total moles of compounds) * 100%

Then, at the very top of the distillation flask, a thermometer was inserted. As shown in Figure 1,
the thermometer was positioned beneath the sidearm that links the condenser to the distillation head.
Then the cooling water was examined to determine if water was flowing before beginning the
distillation process. The heating mantle was switched on to commence the distillation once the
equipment operation was verified.
 Figure 1. Thermometer placement

Figure 2. Distillation Apparatus

2.3 Distillation Process

The heating mantle was heated to a point where the liquid from the distillation flask evaporated
and condensed in the collector. The mantle was switched off, and another empty flask replaced the used
flask. The flask with the drop of the sample was then placed on a cork stand. This procedure was carried
out thrice. Then temperature, volume, and boiling points were all measured as the procedure
progressed. The collected data was interpreted, as shown in Figure 4. Further explanation and
implications of the graph will be on the discussion part of the paper.

Figure 3. 1st sample; 2nd sample; 3rd sample

 Figure 4. Temperature vs. volume; Water/Glycerol boiling point

2.4 Proving the Hypothesis

During the experiment, it was hypothesized that the compounds used would not effectively
separate with simple distillation. To demonstrate this, a flask containing a methanol-water solution was
placed on a distillation head, producing the figures shown in Figure 5. The first figure on the left, showed
no defined transition of boiling points which means that the hypothesis was correct. Other implications
and furhter explanation of the figures will be on the discussion part of the paper.

Figure 5. Temperature vs. volume (distillate); Methanol composition curve

2.5 Separation of homogenous solution

This experiment aims to increase the purity of a substance, ethanol, to be an alternative fuel. It
also aims to identify if simple distillation can be used to purify the said substance.

Because simple distillation was utilized, the boiling point of the homogeneous mixture was
required to determine whether the distillation was effective. It is successful in theory if the boiling points
are near each other; otherwise, it is not. The heat curve of the substance was examined to determine
the boiling points of water and ethanol. The heat is usually a step-wise curve since it shows phase
transitions, as shown in the figure below.
 Figure 6. Heat Curve of water (left) and ethanol (right)

In the graph above, water and ethanol had boiling points of 100° C and 78° C, respectively. As a
result, simple distillation may be used in the experiment. To begin, the mixture was placed on the
distillation head. The temperature was then raised to ethanol's boiling point, and eventually, some of
the mixtures has evaporated and condensed on the collection flask. The first trial failed since the
solution remained the same.

In the second trial, it was hypothesized that pressure could change the boiling and melting
point. So, a 500 mL suction flask that contained ice was placed on the heating plate to lower the
pressure. A tube was then used to connect a vacuum pump to the suction flask, the equipment is shown
in figure 7. The heating plate was switched on, and the group began to record the heat curve at new
pressure. The recorded curve showed that there was a change after lowering the pressure. The new
boiling point was at 61°C and was immediately applied to the distillation apparatus. This change resulted
in a successful distillation.

Figure 7. Pressure apparatus and graph of reduced pressure