Distillation for juniors

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bigmack
Posts: 816
Joined: 15 Dec 2015, 10:49
Job Title: Lab Technician
School: FCAC
State/Location: QLD

Distillation for juniors

Post by bigmack »

Ever since I've been here , we always had this basic air distillation prac for junior classes. It was hopeless .Steam would shoot out the end unless you literally held a match under the flask . At most you'd end up with a few drips of condensate out the end .

[attachment=3]Air_still_1024x1024.jpg[/attachment]

We were against using the quickfit stuff for juniors and as most of our labs don't have suitable hose connections ,using water cooling wasn't an option.

A while back , I found some big old Liebigs in the storeroom . I filled one up with water via a hose and then put a Rubber dropper bottle teat over the hose fitting . A few bits and pieces and success :thumbup:

[attachment=2]old condenser.JPG[/attachment]

I used a bit of hose to connect the Liebig to the flask so there was plenty of safe movement and minimal chance of glass breakage .
The Westlab Unistoppers also have plenty of "give" in them to add extra wiggle-room.

[attachment=1]collection and capped end.JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=0]Fittings.JPG[/attachment]


Teacher used it in class and said it worked a treat . The water in the Liebig jacket had enough cooling capacity to easily run for 10-15 minutes on a spirit burner collecting 20-30 mls of distillate . well and truly enough to demonstrate distillation process .

The teacher said the kids could see and feel the transfer of heat energy and also as the body of water became so hot , she could discuss the idea of using running coolant water to prolong the distillation .

But she said although it worked well , it was large and was hard to fit on the benches .She also said she was nervous that the kids might brake the condensers.
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bigmack
Posts: 816
Joined: 15 Dec 2015, 10:49
Job Title: Lab Technician
School: FCAC
State/Location: QLD

Re: Distillation for juniors

Post by bigmack »

So a bit of head scratching and I come up with a simple version. Its just a glass tube inside a larger tube . The hardest part was cutting the large glass tube .

[attachment=1]easy condenser.JPG[/attachment][attachment=0]close up.JPG[/attachment]


It worked too , pulled 20mls of distillate from it before the water got too hot . Perhaps starting with cooler water might help .
Teacher likes this as its much simpler and the risk of damage to expensive glassware is almost gone.

EDIT: Sorry about the pics /text alignment . The forum is doing something funky at the moment
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RosalieL
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Joined: 28 Jan 2021, 13:24
Job Title: Lab Assistant
School: MCS
State/Location: NSW

Re: Distillation for juniors

Post by RosalieL »

That looks really good! I will have to keep it in mind if I'm asked for something similar. :thumbup: Thanks for sharing!
Prima
Posts: 150
Joined: 02 Dec 2014, 11:20
Job Title: Lab assistant
State/Location: NSW

Re: Distillation for juniors

Post by Prima »

Creative, safe and functional - what a win!
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Anna Z
Posts: 252
Joined: 16 Feb 2021, 14:39
Job Title: Lab Manager
School: DET Secondary School
State/Location: VIC

Re: Distillation for juniors

Post by Anna Z »

Looks like a nice simplistic set up, always the best :)
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