Additional Resources

Distillation

Distillation is the process of separating the components of a liquid mixture through selective evaporation and condensation. The basis of separation is the difference in the vapor pressures (volatilities) of the respective components. To improve the separation in a distillation, chemists often use a fractionating column, which allows for multiple cycles of evaporation and condensation (this is known as fractional distillation). This short video was created by Sal Khan of Khan Academy.