http://www.ck12.org Chapter 2. Matter and Change
FIGURE 2.9
In this figure, we see several important
pieces of equipment. There is a heat
source and a flask containing the liquid to
be distilled. At the center of the set-up is
the condenser. The distillate is collected
in a flask. There are other more compli-
cated assemblies for distillation that can
also be used, especially to separate mix-
tures which are comprised of pure liquids
with boiling points that are close to one
another.Evaporation
Evaporationis a technique used to separate out homogeneous mixtures in which one or more solids are dissolved
in a liquid. Typically, the mixture is heated until all of the liquid has vaporized, leaving behind the dissolved solids
(Figure2.10). The vapor can also be captured and recondensed into a liquid if desired.
FIGURE 2.10
EvaporationThis method can only be used to separate volatile liquid components (those which will evaporate at low temperatures)
from nonvolatile solid components (those which will not evaporate at low temperatures). If there is more than one
liquid or solid component, that portion of the mixture cannot be isolated purely.
Filtration
Filtrationcan be used to separate mixtures in which the some of the particles are large enough in size to be captured
with a porous material while others are not. Particle sizes can vary considerably. For instance, stream water is a