Distillation

Applications of Distillation

• Distillation is used in the production of distilled beverages with high alcohol content.
• It is an effective method of desalination.
• In the petroleum industry, distillation is used for oil stabilization and fractional distillation.
• Cryogenic distillation is employed to separate air into its components for industrial use.
• In the chemical industry, distillation is used to separate crude liquid products of chemical synthesis.

History of Distillation

• Distillation was practiced in the ancient Near East as early as 3000 BCE.
• Aristotle observed that evaporated seawater condenses into freshwater.
• Distillation was practiced in ancient India and China during the first to fifth centuries CE.
• Evidence of distillation has been found related to alchemists in Alexandria in the first century CE.
• Distilled water has been in use since at least 200 CE.

Distillation in the Islamic Golden Age

• Medieval Muslim chemists such as Jābir ibn Ḥayyān and Abū Bakr al-Rāzī experimented extensively with distillation.
• The distillation of wine was described in Arabic works attributed to al-Kindī and al-Fārābī.
• Recipes for producing ethanol through distillation appeared in Latin works in the 12th century.
• Taddeo Alderotti described a method for concentrating alcohol through repeated distillation.
• Fractional distillation played an important role in the works attributed to Jābir.

Distillation in Ancient China

• The distillation of beverages began in the Southern Song and Jin dynasties.
• Archaeological evidence of distillation has been found in China dating back to the 12th century.
• Distilled beverages were common during the Yuan dynasty.
• Distillation played a significant role in Chinese culture and history.
• The distillation of alcohol has a long tradition in ancient China.

Modern Era of Distillation

• In 1500, Hieronymus Brunschwig published the first book solely dedicated to distillation.
• John French published the first major English compendium on distillation in 1651.
• Distillation evolved from alchemy into the science of chemistry.
• Vessels called retorts became commonly used for distillation.
• Distillation is still widely practiced today in various industries.

Distillation Data Sources