NAME / COURSE

Experiment No. 6
DISTILLATION
Distillation is a process by which the components of mixtures are separated. The mixture
can either be homogenous (solutions) or heterogeneous. The said purification process can be
applied to a variety of mixtures as long as the characteristics of the components are taken into
consideration. Some of the more preferred types of distillation processes are the steam and the
fractional distillation. In the former, it is utilized if the components are adversely affected by
direct heating while the latter is employed when separating components by way of their boiling
points.

This experiment uses the simple distillation principle. It is accomplished by evaporating

the component to be recovered and subsequently condensing it. Crude wine is a homogenous
mixture composed mainly of ethyl alcohol, water, and possibly other components such as
dissolved substances that give the color, carbon dioxide, etc. The students will apply this
principle mentioned in the experiment.

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the experiment, the student will know how to:
1. separate ethyl alcohol from a crude wine preparation; and
2. determine the amount of alcohol present in the sample.

EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS:

DISTILLATION SET-UP: HEATING SET-UP:
Distilling flask Bunsen burner
Condenser 2 Iron stands
Thermometer 2 Iron clamps
250-mL Erlenmeyer flask Iron ring
3 150-mL Beakers Boiling chips
50-mL Graduated cylinder
Rubber stopper with hole
Glass funnel

PROCEDURE:
1. Transfer 500 mL of crude wine from experiment #5 into 500-mL distilling flask and
add 3-4 pieces of boiling chips.
2. Assemble the distillation set-up as shown in the picture below and distill at a rate of
3-4 drops per 10 seconds.
 3. Discard the first 2-mL distillate and collect the distillate into three fractions. Collect
the first fraction at the temperature range of 70-85°C; and the second fraction at 86-
95°C; and the last at 96-100°C.
4. Measure the volumes of the distillate and compare their alcoholic odor qualitatively
using a range of 1-10; ten being the most vinous odor.

REPORT SHEET
EXPERIMENT NO. 6: DISTILLATION

DATA
Temp (°C) Amount of Distillate (mL) Odor

70 - 85

86 - 95
 96 - 100

GENERALIZATION/CONCLUSION:

QUESTIONS:
1. How does a distillation process work?

2. What are the limitations of a distillation process?

3. Why are boiling chips necessary in the distillation set-up?

4. Since both water and ethanol are clear/colorless liquids, how do you know if the ethanol
or water was distilling?

5. What is the purpose of a condenser in distillation?

6. Why does water enter the condenser from the bottom inlet?