Why doesn't water distill simultaneously with alcohol when heat is applied to the mixture? Could it ever be the first component to distill in a mixture?
I don't understand this. I have no idea how to answer this. Can you help?
Concentrated alcohol and distillery slop are produced from fermented beer with a reduced amount of energy by employing a vapor recompression distillery slop evaporator in which evaporator vapors are used to strip alcohol from the fermented liquor before they are returned as the heat source for evaporation. Vents in the evaporator permit passage of uncondensed vapors used to drive the evaporator to a rectifier, in which they constitute the principal heat and alcohol source. Condensed vapors from the evaporator and the bottom stream from the rectifier are stripped of their remaining alcohol content in a condensate , which is also driven by the recompressed vapors from the evaporator. This prevents dilution of the slops and the additional energy cost that would be necessary if the water content of these streams had to be removed in the slop evaporator.
slop?
So would it be correct to say "Water doesn’t distill simultaneously with the alcohol when heat is applied to the mixture because of their differing amounts of energy"?
Anonymous, that is nonsense. It sounds like someones dream of a new gadget for distilling that has never been built.
Alcohol molecues are not held with intermolecular forces strong as water to water, so when energy is added (heat), the alcohol is the first to break free of the liquid and become vapor. Another way of measuring this is called vapor pressure...alcohol is much higher vapor pressure than water, ie, it turns to vapor easier at any temperature.
So, to answer your question, alcohol will be the first to vaporize.
I must admit I don't understand the answer by Jess; however, it sounds as if Jess has been around a distillery and I haven't. To add to Bob Pursley's answers, and from a chemistry standpoint but said a little differently as follows:
1. Why doesn't water and alcohol distill simultaneously. Forgetting that they do sometimes, usually the alcohol comes off first simply because the alcohol has a lower boiling point than water. So the alcohol comes off first, then the water comes off.
2. Could it ever happen in a million years that the situation might be reversed OR that both might distill simultaneously. The answer is yes to both. Have you studied about azeotropes?
When the alcohol/water mixture gets to approximately 95%alcohol/5% water, both distill simultaneously. Ethyl alcohol and water form an azeotrope. Here is a site that is a pretty good azeotrope page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azeotrope
Certainly! I'd be happy to help you understand why water and alcohol don't distill simultaneously and why it is highly unlikely for water to be the first component to distill in a mixture, such as a water-alcohol mixture.
When a mixture of water and alcohol is heated, the boiling points of the two substances come into play. Each substance has a specific boiling point, which is the temperature at which it changes from a liquid to a gas.
In the case of water and ethanol (alcohol), the boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit), while the boiling point of ethanol is 78.37 degrees Celsius (173.07 degrees Fahrenheit). This means that water has a higher boiling point than ethanol.
During distillation, when the mixture is heated, the substance with the lower boiling point will vaporize and rise as gas first, leaving behind the substance with the higher boiling point. The vapor is then collected and condensed to obtain the separated components in a more concentrated form.
In the case of a water-alcohol mixture, since ethanol has a lower boiling point than water, it will vaporize first during heating. The vapor will contain mainly ethanol, while water will be left behind. The vapor can then be collected, cooled, and condensed, resulting in distilled ethanol.
The reason why water doesn't distill simultaneously with alcohol is due to the difference in their boiling points. Water requires a higher temperature (boiling point) to transition from a liquid to a gas compared to alcohol. Therefore, alcohol will evaporate and distill before water.
Now, as for water being the first component to distill in a mixture, such as a water-alcohol mixture, it is highly unlikely. The boiling point of water is considerably higher than most other components commonly found in mixtures. However, in some rare cases, if the mixture contains substances with even lower boiling points than water, those components might vaporize and distill before water.
In summary, the distillation process separates the components of a mixture by utilizing the differences in boiling points. When heating a water-alcohol mixture, alcohol will vaporize and distill first because it has a lower boiling point than water. While it is highly unlikely for water to be the first component to distill, other components with lower boiling points could potentially vaporize before water, but it depends on the specific mixture.