Distillation Techniques and Water Purification

This page covers distillation techniques, including simple and fractional distillation techniques, and their applications in water purification. It explains the principles behind these separation methods and their practical uses.

Simple distillation is described as a method used to separate a solvent from a solution, particularly effective when the dissolved solute has a much higher boiling point than the solvent. Fractional distillation, on the other hand, is explained as a technique to separate two or more liquids in a solution based on their different boiling points.

Example: In simple distillation, when a solution is heated, the solvent vapor evaporates, moves away, and is cooled and condensed, leaving behind a more concentrated solution of the solute.

The page also discusses the importance of using pure water for chemical analysis, noting that tap water contains dissolved salts that may interfere with reactions. It explains how simple distillation can be used to purify seawater by separating water from dissolved salts.

Highlight: Water used for chemical analysis should not contain salt, as tap water with dissolved salts may cause unexpected cloudy precipitation in reactions.