Distillate
Summary: The distillate is the liquid collected after condensation during distillation — it is the purified or separated liquid that has been evaporated and then condensed back to liquid form. Tags: igcse chemistry distillation keyword Created: 2026-07-14 Last Updated: 2026-07-14
Definition
The distillate is the condensed liquid collected from a distillation apparatus. It is the liquid that evaporates, travels through the condenser, and is re-condensed into a pure (or purer) form in the receiving flask.
In Simple Distillation
- The distillate is the pure liquid with the lower boiling point (e.g., pure water from seawater)
- It is collected in the receiving flask at the end of the condenser
In Fractional Distillation
- Multiple distillates (fractions) are collected at different temperature ranges
- Each distillate corresponds to a different component of the original mixture
- e.g., petrol distillate (40–100°C), diesel distillate (220–300°C) from crude oil
Distillate vs Filtrate
| Term | What It Is | Technique |
|---|---|---|
| Distillate | Condensed liquid collected | Distillation |
| Filtrate | Liquid that passes through filter paper | Filtration |
See Also
- Separation Techniques — Simple and fractional distillation
- Fractional Distillation — Separating miscible liquids
- Fuels and Petroleum — Crude oil fractions as distillates
- Miscible — Liquids that mix (need distillation to separate)
- IGCSE-Chem-Index