Distillation simulation

Choose compounds to mix, then heat the mixture. The simulation shows particles evaporating, moving through the condenser, cooling back into liquid, and collecting as the distillate.

Temperature 20°C
20°C
What is happening?
The mixture is being heated.

Distillation separates substances based on differences in boiling point. The substance with the lower boiling point evaporates first, then condenses and is collected.

Compound Formula Boiling point
Collected distillate
Nothing collected yet.

Teaching note: this is a conceptual classroom model. Real distillation depends on vapour pressure, miscibility, concentration, heating rate and apparatus. Ethanol and ethyl ethanoate have very similar boiling points, so simple distillation would not separate them cleanly.