Fractionation

Fractionation is a process used to separate different components of a mixture, often involving liquids. It works by exploiting differences in the components' boiling points. When the mixture is heated, the component with the lowest boiling point turns into vapor first. This vapor is then condensed back into a liquid to be collected separately. Repeating this process allows for the gradual separation of complex mixtures into their individual parts, making it useful in industries like refining crude oil into gasoline and other fuels, or in producing alcohols and other chemicals with high purity.