When you use distillation to separate water from dissolved sugar, the process involves several phases that water goes through:
-
Liquid Phase: Initially, you have a solution where water is in a liquid state with dissolved sugar. This is the starting point.
-
Heating: As you heat the solution, the temperature of the liquid phase will increase. The water will start to evaporate, transitioning from a liquid state to a gas (water vapor). The sugar does not evaporate under these conditions and remains in the liquid phase.
-
Vapor Phase: Once the water reaches its boiling point, it begins to vaporize, and the water molecules transition into the gas phase. This water vapor contains only water, while the sugar remains in the liquid phase.
-
Cooling/Condensation: The vapor is then directed to a cooling system, where it cools down and loses energy. As temperature decreases, the water vapor begins to condense back into liquid water.
-
Liquid Phase Again: The condensed water, now separated from the sugar, collects as purified liquid water. The sugar remains in the original container.
In summary, during distillation to separate water from dissolved sugar, the phases involved are: liquid (initial solution), gas (water vapor during boiling), and back to liquid (condensed water).
1 answer