Distillation

Distillation separates components of a mixture by vaporizing them and condensing the vapor. It exploits differences in volatility, often expressed through boiling points or vapor pressures.

Vapor–liquid equilibrium: The condition in which vapor and liquid phases coexist with compositions determined by temperature, pressure, and intermolecular interactions. It determines which components enrich the vapor above a boiling mixture.
Boiling point: The temperature at which a liquid's vapor pressure equals the surrounding pressure. Boiling-point differences often signal which component vaporizes more readily.
Petroleum refining: The industrial processing of crude oil into fuels and other products through separation and chemical conversion. Crude-oil fractions are separated chiefly in atmospheric and vacuum distillation units.
Liquid–liquid extraction: A separation method that transfers a solute between two immiscible liquid phases. It can separate components when vaporization is energy-intensive or ineffective.
Thermal efficiency: The fraction of supplied heat that produces a desired useful effect rather than losses. Reboilers and condensers make energy efficiency a central design concern.
Raoult's law: A relation stating that a component's partial vapor pressure equals its liquid mole fraction times its pure-component vapor pressure. It predicts vapor composition for many ideal liquid mixtures.
Vapor pressure: The pressure exerted by a vapor in equilibrium with its condensed phase at a given temperature. Higher vapor pressure generally means greater volatility at the same temperature.
Cryogenic air separation: The production of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon by cooling and separating liquefied air. Fractional distillation separates air's major components after liquefaction.
Membrane separation: A separation process in which a membrane selectively transports components of a mixture. Membranes can avoid the repeated heating and cooling required by distillation.
Heat integration: The recovery and reuse of heat between process streams to reduce external energy demand. Exchanging heat between columns and process streams can reduce fuel use.

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