distillation
purifying liquid by heating
a way to purify or separate a liquid by boiling it and cooling the steam
the distillation of [liquid/substance]
- The distillation of the fermented mash produces a clear spirit.
- They use distillation to remove salts and minerals from water.
- Modern refineries rely on distillation to separate crude oil into different fuels.
- Distillation makes water cleaner.
- Whiskey is made by distillation.
essence or condensed summary
a short version that keeps only what is most important
a distillation of [ideas/experience/information]
- Her talk was a distillation of years of research into a few key insights.
- The new guide is a distillation of the company’s best advice for beginners.
- This paragraph is the distillation of the argument: cost matters more than speed.
- This book is a distillation of his ideas.
- Give me a distillation of the main points.
product obtained by distilling
the liquid you get after distilling
a distillation of [plant/oil/mixture]
- The lab collected the distillation in a clean receiving flask for analysis.
- Perfumers may use a rose distillation as a base for fragrance blends.
- The distillation was stored in a bottle.
- Base: distillation
- Plural: distillation, distillations
destructive distillation
1heating without oxygen to decompose
heating a material without oxygen so it breaks into other substances
- Destructive distillation of wood produces charcoal and volatile chemicals.
- In industrial history, destructive distillation was used to make coal tar from coal.
distillation column
1tower that separates by distillation
a tall machine that separates liquids by distillation
- Engineers monitored the temperature profile along the distillation column.
- A distillation column can separate a complex mixture into several useful products.
distillation flask
1glass container for distilling
a glass container used to boil a liquid in distillation
- We placed the mixture in a distillation flask and heated it gently.
- Cracks in the distillation flask can be dangerous when the glass is under heat.
fractional distillation
1separating liquids by boiling points
a method to separate mixed liquids by their different boiling points
- Fractional distillation is used to separate crude oil into gasoline, diesel, and other products.
- In class, we used fractional distillation to separate ethanol from water.
steam distillation
1extracting oils using steam
a way to take oils from plants using steam
- Many essential oils are produced by steam distillation of leaves and flowers.
- Steam distillation can help prevent heat damage to delicate compounds.
vacuum distillation
1distilling under reduced pressure
distillation done at low pressure so liquids boil at lower temperatures
- The refinery uses vacuum distillation to process heavier fractions without overheating them.
- We chose vacuum distillation because the compound decomposes at high temperatures.