Ethanol Distillation Post-Analysis

Answer the following questions about the Ethanol Distillation lab.  This assignment is due on Thursday, December 8th.

  1. What is an azeotrope?  What is the boiling point and composition of the azeotrope used in this lab?
  2. Is this ethanol-water azeotrope a pure liquid? (think about its constant boiling point)
  3. Which fractions of the fractional distillation contain the greatest percentage of ethanol? What is the major component of later, higher boiling fractions?
  4. What specific type of azeotrope is the ethanol-water mixture used in this lab? Explain who this mixture represents a minimum-boiling azeotrope.
  5. Compare and contrast the observed differences between simple distillation and the fractional distillation for separating the ethanol-water mixture used in this lab.