distillation

UK/dɪstɪˈleɪʃən/US/ˌdɪstɪˈleɪʃən/

nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,451 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: distillations

Distillation is separating liquids by boiling and cooling the vapour. The distillation of whisky, fractional distillation, a distillation of the argument.

It works because different liquids boil at different temperatures, so the vapour is richer in whatever boils first. Fractional distillation of crude oil separates it into petrol, diesel and the rest in one tall column. A distillation of an argument is its essence.

Definitions of distillation

1noundistillationSeparating liquids by boiling and cooling the vapour.C2
“Fresh water can be made from seawater by distillation.”

distillation is a process.

Where it comes from

Latin distillatio comes from distillare, to drip down — de plus stilla, a drop.

Latin
distīllātiōnem
Anglo-Norman
distillacioun
Middle English
distillacioun
English, today
distillation

From Middle English distillacioun, from Anglo-Norman distillacioun, from Latin distīllātiōnem, accusative of distīllātiō.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Chemistry & Elements

Practise this word

distillation in the wild

However, distillation has an enormous environmental footprint, resulting in the consumption of approximately 25% of all industrial energy use.
Distillation
The key issue is that distillation operates based on phase changes, and this separation mechanism requires vast energy inputs.
Distillation
An azeotrope () or a constant heating point mixture is a mixture of two or more liquids whose proportions cannot be changed by simple distillation.
Azeotrope
Oil refineries are typically large, sprawling industrial complexes with extensive piping running throughout, carrying streams of fluids between large chemical processing units, such as distillation columns.
Oil refinery
A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale.
Still

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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