Distillation of a Mixture
Distillation of a Mixture
Practical Skills Development
- Safe use of a range of equipment to purify and/or separate chemical mixtures including evaporation, filtration, crystallisation, chromatography and distillation
- Safe use of appropriate heating devices and techniques including use of a Bunsen burner and a water bath or electric heater
- Use of appropriate apparatus to make and record a range of measurements accurately, including mass, time, temperature, and volume of liquids and gases
Aim
- To separate pure, clean water from a sample containing water and other substances
Health & Safety Aspects
Materials
- 10 cm3 of an impure water sample
- Bunsen burner
- Tripod
- Gauze
- Heatproof mat
- Clamp and clamp stand
- Conical flask with delivery tube and bung
- Boiling tube
- Ice bath
Diagram showing the apparatus to set-up for a simple distillation experiment
Practical Tip:
- The delivery tube must sit above the filtrate level to prevent cold water being sucked back up the delivery tube after separation, which would break the hot glass
- This experiment can also be done with other mixtures such as orange juice, coca cola or inky water
Method:
- Add the water sample to the conical flask and set up the apparatus for distillation as shown in the diagram
- Heat the water using the Bunsen burner until boiling occurs
- Reduce the heat so that the water boils gently for some time
- The distilled water will collect in the cooled test tube
- Collect about 2 cm depth of water in this way, then stop heating
- Analyse the water you have distilled by determining its boiling point
Results:
The distillate contains pure clean water
Conclusion:
Simple distillation can be used to produce pure water from a sample of impure or contaminated water.
