Analysis Of Fractional Distillation

Abstract The experiment aimed to separate the ethanol from the alcoholic beverage sample using a type of distillation called fractional distillation and to calculate the percentage of the ethanol from the sample. 25 mL of the sample were obtained and transferred to the distilling flask of the distillation set-up and underwent fractional distillation. For every dry calibrated test tubes, 0.5 mL of the distillate were collected and the temperature was recorded. Once the temperature reached above 90˚C, the distillation was stopped. The volume of distillate collected 10.5 mL and the volume of the ethanol was 6 mL, which resulted into 24.0% ethanol.

Introduction

Alcoholic beverages all share a common characteristic, they were all developed with the use of anaerobic fermentation of carbohydrates by the use of yeasts. Majority of plant matter can be used as a source to

The joints were greased well to prevent vapor loss. 15 mL of the sample used and two boiling chips were placed in the distilling flask. The flask was heated with a hotplate in an oil bath. In separate, numbered, and calibrated test tubes, 0.5 mL of the distillate were collected while the temperature was recorded when each fraction was collected. The distillation was stopped when the temperature reached above 90˚. The set-up was cooled and the remaining liquid in the distilling flask were poured into a graduated cylinder. The volume was recorded. The temperature reading versus the volume of distillate were now plotted. The percent ethanol was computed.

Conclusion

In the experiment, the ethanol in the commercial alcoholic beverage was separated using a type of distillation called fractional distillation. The distillation of the 25 mL of alcoholic beverage resulted into 6 mL of ethanol and 7 mL of residue. With the data gathered, the percentage of ethanol was computed. The percentage of ethanol that was computed resulted to