5)Fractional distillation of petroleum

After reviewing these resources, students should be able to explain the difference between simple distillation and fractional distillation.  This information should be sufficiently deep that students can do any of the following:

-identify, name, sketch and describe the purpose of the equipment used in the separation.

 -identify the physical property of matter used in the separation.

-identify additional equipment which is used to improve the quality and purity during a fractional separation.  Show this in your drawing.

-annotate your sketch with a series of particle diagrams illustrating the material at a particle scale, at several locations along the fractionating column.  Evaluate your particle drawings: how do they show the relative kinetic energy of the particles at each height in the column?  The composition of the mixture at each height?  The phase(s) of matter of each of the mixture components at each height?
 

-Which method would be used to separate salt and water?  Which method would be used to separate volatile oils from a plant extract?  Why is simple distillation not useful for separations of materials with boiling temperatures within 5 degrees? Student should give other examples of mixtures which might be appropriately separated by simple distillation, or which might require fractional distillation.

-Compare and contrast the equipment used for continuous distillation in the petroleum industry (reference 5, above) with the table top equipment we might use to achieve a high quality fractional distillation in the classroom (reference 4a, 4b, above).  In what sense are both of these systems "fractional distillation" rather than "simple distillation"