fractional distillation

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noun Chemistry.

the separation of volatile components of different boiling points in a mixture by the gradual increase of temperature and the separate collection of each component.

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Origin of fractional distillation

First recorded in 1855–60

Words nearby fractional distillation

fracted, fraction, fractional, fractional crystallization, fractional currency, fractional distillation, fractionalize, fractional orbital bombardment system, fractionate, fractionating column, fractionation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use fractional distillation in a sentence

Desert Golfing is the distillation of Angry Birds into its purest essence.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the copper performs another important function: working as a catalyst in the distillation process.
When It Comes to Great Whisky, The Size of Your Still Matters||December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Why the size and shape of a copper still is at the core of whisky distillation.
When It Comes to Great Whisky, The Size of Your Still Matters||December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The low wine then goes through a second distillation phase in a smaller spirit still—but more on that in a moment.
When It Comes to Great Whisky, The Size of Your Still Matters||December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

To produce deliciously smooth drams of single malt, the region has refined the ancient art of distillation.
When It Comes to Great Whisky, The Size of Your Still Matters||December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The difference is due to the less minute calculation of fractional quantities in the latter case.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
There was not a lie in this honest girl—not a fractional part of a lie—from her toes to her head.
A Forest Hearth: A Romance of Indiana in the Thirties|Charles Major
The yield was increased by acidulating the mixture with sulphuric acid before the distillation.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron)|William Anderson Syme
By distillation a small quantity of oil was isolated, which possesses the characteristic odor of the preparation.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various
He has repeatedly obtained it from distillation from human pathological fluids.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for fractional distillation

fractional distillation

noun

the process of separating the constituents of a liquid mixture by heating it and condensing separately the components according to their different boiling points

a distillation in which the vapour is brought into contact with a countercurrent of condensed liquid to increase the purity of the final products

Sometimes shortened to: distillation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for fractional distillation

fractional distillation

A process by which a chemical compound is separated into components by distillation. In fractional distillation the compound is heated and, as each of its constituent components comes to a boil, its vapors are separated and cooled, so it can be removed in its pure form. Fractional distillation is used to refine petroleum. See also distillation.