VALMORIA, JANICA V.
BSCHEM-2A
Organic Chemistry 1
Laboratory Report
DISTILLATION
Distillation is a way of purifying liquids. It can separate the elements or components
of any mixture when they have a different boiling points. (Libretexts, 2022) For our first
laboratory experiment, we were tasked with distillation of alcoholic drinks. We used
Tanduay for this experiment. Before we proceed to distillation process, we prepared the
apparatus first that was used in the experiment. We borrowed an iron stand, rubber
stopper, cork, clamp, tripod, Bunsen burner, thermometer, wire gauze, distilling flask,
condenser, Erlenmeyer flask, water inlet and outlet, and water pump. After washing and
air drying the materials, we started setting up the distillation apparatus.
We used the iron stand together with the tripod and wire gauze to put the distilling
flask. Then, when the distilling flask got stable, we started to put the side arm of the
distilling flask into the condenser, we make sure that the sidearm would not touch the
condenser’s surface. And then, we put the water inlet and outlet in their designated places
in the condenser. Also, we used another ring stand for the condenser. After that, instead
of Erlenmeyer flask, we used a volumetric flask as a receiving flask for our distillate. For
our water inlet and outlet, we got a container that was filled with cold water, and a water
pump. The water inlet and outlet were then soaked in the container. After making sure
that the distillation apparatus was set up and ready, we started to turn on the water pump.
It is recommended to start the flow of cold water through the condenser and fill it with cold
water before heating the distillation flask. It would help to make sure that the condenser
was already at a low temperature when the vapors started to enter. When the condenser
was already filled with cold water, we started to assemble the Bunsen burner. In our case,
the Bunsen burner was a little far from the bottom of the distilling flask. So, we decided to
put the Bunsen burner in the stand of the iron stand. When the Bunsen burner was already
set up, we started to put the alcoholic drink into the distilling flask. We use s funnel to
make sure that the alcoholic drink will not go to the side arm of the distilling flask and
condenser. After transferring the alcoholic drink, we put the thermometer on the rubber
stopper located in the long neck of the flask. Sad to say, the first problem in our experiment
was the rubber stopper. The thermometer did not fit in the rubber stopper. So, we fixed it
the DIY way. After fixing the rubber stopper, we make sure that the thermometer is placed
just above the surface of the alcoholic drink being distilled. The second problem in our
experiment was the Bunsen burner. When everything was already set, we started to turn
on the gas and light the Bunsen burner. But the Bunsen burner was only on the low flame.
We thought that the problem was the gas, so we tried to change the gas tank, but the
flame was still the same. We concluded that the problem was the Bunsen burner.
We started the distillation after everything was set. The first drop of the distillate
was at the temperature of 76◦C. We decided to record the temperature every 2 minutes.
In the first 2 minutes after the first drop, the temperature was at the 78◦C. We wondered
why at the temperature of 78◦C the alcoholic drink was still not boiling when supposedly
its boiling point was at 78◦C. Our laboratory instructor concluded that it was because of
the low flame. We continued the distillation despite having a problem with the Bunsen
burner. While waiting for it to boil, our instructor taught us on how to calibrate
refractometer, a device used to measure the alcohol content. We tried calibrating first the
distilled water in the refractometer. We noticed that there was a light in the refractometer,
and after the light, it showed the result. And then we wipe it with a special tissue that will
not damage the refractometer. After we tried the refractometer, we went back to our
distillation. After how many minutes of distilling the Tanduay, the temperature was only at
79◦C. So, we just end the experiment because we are already running out of time. We
collected just the right amount of distillate for the flammable test. The fire takes a long
time to burn out, it takes almost 2 minutes before it was totally burned out. After that, the
excess of the distillate was tested in the refractometer to measure its alcohol content.
In conclusion, even though our experiment was not successful it brought us a lot
of knowledge, especially in setting up the distillation apparatus. We face many problems
in some of the materials, but we manage to find ways for it to be resolved. We didn’t even
see how distillation really works but the important was the knowledge and experience we
got in this experiment.
Reference: Libretexts. (2022, April 7). 5: distillation. Chemistry LibreTexts.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Organic_Chemistry_Lab_Te
chniques_(Nichols)/05%3A_Distillation