Elevate Your Craft: Discover the Types of Distillation That Can Change Your Brewing Game!

Distillation is a unit process used in chemical industries around the world to separate the components of a mixture. Distillation is the process by which a liquid evaporates and is converted into a vapor which is then condensed and collected in a container. There are three main forms of distillation: fractional distillation, simple distillation, and destructive distillation. Each method serves a different purpose and plays a vital role in extracting the desired substance or purifying the compound.

What is distillation?

Distillation can be defined as the process of separating components or substances from a mixture using different boiling points or relative volatilities. In other words, the distillation process involves separating one liquid from another by converting a liquid into a vapor and condensing back into liquid form. The distillation process proceeds as follows:

A homogeneous mixture containing solids and liquids is heated together in a closed distillation flask.
Liquids escape from the distillation flask and form vapors because they are volatile.
These vapors are cooled by passing through the condenser.
Pure liquid is obtained by the process of condensation in a given container.
Non-volatile solids remain as residue.

Distillation principle

Distillation takes place at the boiling point of the solvent. Boiling occurs when the vapor pressure equals atmospheric pressure.
When the relative volatility of the liquid is high, the separation effect of the mixture components is better.
When heat is applied to a liquid, the vapor boils and then condenses.

Distillation type

Types of distillation include simple distillation, steam distillation, fractional distillation, and vacuum distillation.

simple distillation

Simple distillation can be used when two liquids have different boiling points, or to separate a liquid from a solid or non-volatile mixture. In simple distillation, heating a mixture changes the most important volatile components from liquid to vapor. The vapor rises and enters the condenser. the condenser is cooled (eg, by flowing cold water around it) to promote condensation of the collected vapor.

steam distillation

Steam distillation is used to separate heat-sensitive components. Steam is added to the mixture, causing some of it to evaporate. The vapor is cooled and condensed into two different liquid fractions. Sometimes these fractions are collected , or they will have different density values such that they separate themselves. One example is steam distillation of flowers to produce volatile oils and a water-based distillate.

Fractionation

Fractional distillation is used when the boiling points of the components of a mixture are close to each other (determined using Raoult’s law). Fractionating columns separate components through a series of distillations called distillation. In fractional distillation, the mixture is heated and the vapor rises and enters the fractionating column. As the vapor cools, it condenses on the column packing. The heat of the rising vapor causes the liquid to evaporate again, causing it to move along the column, producing a purer sample of the volatile components of the mixture.

vacuum distillation

Vacuum distillation is used to separate high boiling components. Lowering the pressure in the equipment also lowers the boiling point. Otherwise, the method is comparable to other types of distillation. Vacuum distillation is particularly useful when the conventional boiling point exceeds the decomposition temperature of the compound.

The differences and applications of distillation

The main difference between these distillation methods is their application based on the properties of the mixture. Simple distillation is suitable for mixtures with different boiling points, while fractional distillation is effective for components with closer boiling points. Destructive distillation, but, is used to break down organic materials into useful by-products.

Some applications of distillation:

Purification of organic solvents—absolute ethanol (100%).
Separate non-volatile substances from volatile substances.
Purification of drugs produced using chemical processes.
Petroleum product refining – Petroleum ether 60,80.
Solvent recovery-synthesis.
Remove salt from water to prepare drinking water.
Separate methanol or ethanol from water
Concentration of oils and beverages in the food industry.

Beer Brewing Equipment

Beer Brewery Equipment Manufacturer The brewing supplies provided by Micet Craft can support your brewing needs from small batches of micro beer brewing equipment to

Fermentation Tank

China stainless steel fermentation vessels manufacturer The fermentation tank is where the beer carry out the fermentation process, it provides a place suitable for life

Bright Beer Tank

Professional bright Beer tank manufacturer from China The bright tank is a vessel for storing and carbonated beer, it is also called the brite tank.

Brewing Equipment

China brewing equipment manufacturer and suppliers Micet Craft has cooperated with breweries in many countries around the world to provide them with brewing equipment. We

Can regular dish soap be used to clean brewery equipment?

Brewhouse Equipment

Best brewhouse equipment manufacturer from china Brewing good beer requires brewhouse equipment. Whether you are brewing beer for home, business or brewery, Micet Craft can

Beer Filling Machine

Professional beer filling machine manufacturer Beer filling machine is the core equipment of the beer production line. Our beer filling system uses stainless steel as

Beer Brewing System

Best beer brewing system manufacturer from china Micet Craft is a professional beer brewing system manufacturer in China. We mainly produce high-end customized turnkey brewing