Distillation Lab

In this lab procedure, lab groups were split by the type of lab procedure they would perform. Half the lab groups were tasked to perform simple distillation while the other half performed a fractional distillation. Before beginning the procedure for the fractional procedure, materials were gathered. The lab procedure with the lab manual called for a short neck round bottom flask; however, this was not followed during the actual lab. Instead, the long round bottom flask was used. In addition to the long round bottom flask, other materials included the still head, 10 mL graduated cylinder, 2 pipettes, support plate, the long distillation column, rubber connector with support rode, 2 ring clamps, an additional rubber connector, copper turnings, sand bath, ring stand, a thermometer adapter, and a thermometer1. Before assemble of the distillation apparatus could begin, the 50/50 mixture of ethanol and water needed to be prepared. Using a pipette, 2 mL of water was …show more content…
Once this process was complete, 2 boiling chips were added to the round bottom flask then the water ethanol solution was added. After the round bottom flask was primed, the distillation apparatus was assembled. First, a lab member packed 2 to 3 strands of the copper into the distillation column, and while this was occurring, another lab member gathered a beaker of sand to bring to the hood. Within the hood, there was a sand bath and a ring stand. Additionally, sand was added to the sand bath. In order to assemble the distillation apparatus, the distillation column was attached to a rubber connector with a support rod (which