Which process uses boiling and condensation to separate liquids?

Which process uses boiling and condensation to separate liquids?

• A. Filtration
• B. Evaporation
• C. Distillation
• D. Centrifugation

Answer: (C)

Distillation relies on differences in boiling points to separate liquids. Heat the mixture and the liquid with the lower boiling point turns into vapor. That vapor travels to a condenser, where it cools and returns to liquid, which is collected as the distillate. If the boiling points are close, a fractionating column adds many tiny vaporization-condensation cycles to improve separation. Other methods don’t use boiling and condensation to separate liquids. Filtration removes solids from liquids based on particle size, not by vaporizing components. Evaporation turns the liquid into vapor but doesn’t capture and collect a separate liquid. Centrifugation separates by density through spinning, not by changing the phase of the liquids.

Distillation relies on differences in boiling points to separate liquids. Heat the mixture and the liquid with the lower boiling point turns into vapor. That vapor travels to a condenser, where it cools and returns to liquid, which is collected as the distillate. If the boiling points are close, a fractionating column adds many tiny vaporization-condensation cycles to improve separation.

Other methods don’t use boiling and condensation to separate liquids. Filtration removes solids from liquids based on particle size, not by vaporizing components. Evaporation turns the liquid into vapor but doesn’t capture and collect a separate liquid. Centrifugation separates by density through spinning, not by changing the phase of the liquids.