Question

Suppose you have two feeds containing methanol and water that you want to batch distill.

a. The lower boiling point of methanol allows for separation
b. Water and methanol form an azeotrope, making separation difficult
c. Batch distillation is more efficient than continuous distillation
d. Fractional distillation is required for complete separation

Answer 1

Batch distillation is used to separate methanol from water due to methanol's lower boiling point. However, an azeotrope formed by methanol and water complicates the process, necessitating fractional distillation for complete separation, which is more efficient than batch distillation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The separation of mixtures containing methanol and water through batch distillation involves the fact that methanol has a lower boiling point, which facilitates its separation. However, a challenge arises with water and methanol forming an azeotrope, which implies that at certain compositions they boil at the same temperature, making separation not as straightforward. While batch distillation can indeed separate substances, it's usually considered less efficient compared to continuous distillation due to the need to repeatedly fill and empty the distillation apparatus. Furthermore, to achieve complete separation, especially when dealing with azeotropic mixtures, fractional distillation is typically required as it utilizes a fractionating column to enhance the separation efficiency, allowing for a more refined separation of components based on their different boiling points.