Evaporation is a process where there is a change in the state of matter from a liquid to a gaseous form. For example, when we heat water (a liquid), it gets converted to steam (gaseous form). The temperature at which this change of state takes place is called the boiling point. Evaporation can also be used to separate different liquids mixed together. When a mixture of liquids is boiled together, they evaporate at different temperatures according to their boiling points, hence, they can be separated. This is called distillation. In this article, we focus on the 8 differences between evaporation and distillation.
Difference between evaporation and distillation
| Difference | Evaporation | Distillation |
| Definition | It is a type of vaporization which occurs on the surface of the liquid as it changes into the gas phase. Process in which liquid changes into gas or vapor. | • Example of distillation stabilization -water purification -in fermented food and beverages to purify. – air separation -crude oil refining. |
| Example | In the presence of sunlight temperature of water increases. -hydrogen bonds of H2O from the surface start breaking due to which dissociated molecules move upward -therefore evaporation takes place from the surface but not from the inside. | • Example of distillation stabilization -water purification -in fermented food and beverages to purify. – air separation; -crude oil refining. |
| •Application of distillation: In water purification techniques. In low volume humidifiers In lead-acid batteries. Much fermented food and beverage are purified. Oil stabilization Separation of air. | -to separate the mixture of liquid, the liquid is heated to force components which are having different boiling points into the gas phase. -gas is again condensed into liquid form and collected. -the process is repeated till the purity of the liquid is obtained. | |
| Initiation | •Initiation of evaporation: Occurs at all times, places, and surfaces when air is hot, dry, and windy. | •Initiation of distillation: Begins with heating a liquid to boiling point. |
| Method | •Methods of evaporation: Spontaneous evaporation in open ail. Evaporation by the application of heat directly from fire to a vessel containing the liquid. Evaporation by indirect application of heat from the fire by means of steam, with or without pressure. Evaporation under reduced pressure. | •Types of distillation: Simple distillation(heating mixture to boiling point and then immediately condensing ) Fractional distillation(involves vaporization, condensation steps) Steam distillation(to separate heat-sensitive components in the mixture) Vacuum distillation(heating to high temperature) Air sensitive vacuum distillation Short path distillation(to purify a small quantity of compound) Zone distillation |
| Application | •Application of evaporation: In an industrial process for printing and coating process, to recover salt from solutions. -to dry materials. -film deposition. – combustion vaporization. | •Application of distillation: In water purification techniques. In low volume humidifiers In lead-acid batteries. Much fermented food and beverages are purified. Oil stabilization Separation of air. |
| Factors affecting | •Factors that affect evaporation: Temperature: As temperature increases the rate of evaporation increases.Surface area: As surface area increases s rate of evaporation increases.Humidity: The rate of evaporation decreases when humidity increases.Wind speed: As the wind increases evaporation increases. | •Factors that affect distillation: Relative volatility Activity coefficient Solubility Maximum achievable concentration. Surface area. |
See Also
- Benzene
- Azeotropic distillation
- Differences between evaporation and distillation
- Condensation
- Michael addition reaction
- Alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes nomenclature
- Difference between molecular mass and molar mass
- Difference between allotropes and isomers
- Difference between methanol and ethanol
- Difference between corrosion and rusting
