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Questions tagged [distillation]

For questions about the process of distillation. For the distillation process used in metal refining, also use the [metallurgy] tag.

19 votes
5 answers
14k views

Un-denaturing industrial alcohol

I have a question regarding the denaturation of industrial ethanol with methanol to discourage its consumption. The boiling point of methanol is 64.7 °C, while the boiling point of ethanol is 78.37 °...
René's user avatar
  • 444
12 votes
2 answers
9k views

Proper use of vacuum pump during vacuum distillation

I am preparing to do a vacuum distillation and am unsure exactly how to manage the vacuum. The vacuum pump I have is a two-stage rotary vane pump which is capable of 250 microns or lower. It has a ...
Shaka Boom's user avatar
  • 2,344
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

Enrichment of D2O

The Wikipedia page for deuterium oxide (heavy water) says that its boiling point is 374.5 K and the one for ordinary water is 373.13 K. Is there a way of distillation which we can use to enrich ...
Santosh Kumar's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
612 views

Do light and heavy water form an azeotrope?

(Interested in the general principle too, not just for water and its variants, but with particular emphasis on it.) When you distill a weak ethanol-in-water solution, you get a condensate that's ...
Bernd Jendrissek's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

Vacuum distillation apparatus selection and configuration

I want to assemble a "hobbyist-level" vacuum distillation apparatus for extracting small volumes of "typical" solvents (e.g., water, alcohols, ketones, diols). I already have standard lab glassware ...
feetwet's user avatar
  • 3,340
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why is NMP developing a yellow color after distillation?

I got an aqueous mother liquor of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) from some reaction I was running and when I redistilled it under vacuum, it came out colorless but turned yellow the next day. I am ...
Pulkit Sharma's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
200 views

Distilling milligram quantities of oil like it's late 1970s

In a currently retracted* manuscript by Tomas Hudlicky [1, Retraction Watch] the following has been noted: Fifty years ago professors took an active part in all laboratory instructions and they ...
andselisk's user avatar
  • 38.4k
6 votes
3 answers
16k views

Isopropyl alcohol forming peroxides

I read in many MSDS that Isopropyl alcohol tends to form peroxides (by reacting to air OR light) which may explode when they reach a given concentration. For example: http://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/...
user51166's user avatar
  • 457
6 votes
2 answers
329 views

Alcohol (ethanol) distillation: mystery congener

I regularly home-distil small amounts of potable alcohol (ethanol), mainly from fermented sugar(s) solutions (the 'wash'). My still is a box standard, $4.5\mathrm{L}$ electrically heated (safety!), ...
Gert's user avatar
  • 1,927
6 votes
4 answers
548 views

To heat or not to heat; distillation?

One of the questions in a recent past paper I completed was: One way to make water from the reservoir suitable for drinking is by distillation. Describe how water is distilled. And I answered ...
minseong's user avatar
  • 223
6 votes
1 answer
955 views

steam distillation of 4-bromoaniline , why render it basic prior

In the multistage synthesis of 4-bromobenzenamine, why must the solution be rendered alkaline prior to the steam distillation after the hydrolysis of 4-bromo-N-ethanoylbenzenamine?
user16513's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
14k views

How to increase the concentration of HCl

Today I have purchased some $\ce{HCl(aq)}$ on my local market with a concentration of 23%. However, I need to obtain a concentration of 37% in order to perform an experiment. Can I use distillation ...
creekorful's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
3k views

Does distilled water still have ions in it? Does deionized water lack ions, but still have other "stuff" in it?

This isn't a question about the difference between Deionized and Distilled water, my hope is that for once it's actually a chemistry question related to this topic. Distilled water is created by ...
petlahk's user avatar
  • 67
5 votes
1 answer
141 views

N2O production vs air distillation

After producing nitrogen by distilling air, how is that nitrogen used with the oxygen to yield nitrous oxide ($\ce{N2O}$)? I see $\ce{N2O}$ available in different purities from various suppliers, but ...
jbthebullfrog's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
808 views

Why is ethanol distilled off before adding water in the first step of a malonic synthesis?

I am doing a malonic synthesis shown below, and I wonder why I should distill ethanol off before adding water in the first step of the reaction (First I add absolute ethanol and solid sodium).
Tino Petersson's user avatar

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