Innovative techniques in school level micro-scale chemistry experiments part (I) Collection of Distillate at the Source (CDS) technique [1]

Abstract

Traditional distillation setup collects distillate at a certain distance from the boiling source. This results in loss of product and the situation  could be very serious if micro-scale method is employed. By using an innovative design, it is possible to collect nascent distillate immediately after vapor condensation at the boiling source. This is the rationale of designing the Collection of Distillate at the Source (“CDS”) technique. The design not only significantly improves product yield, because cooling water used for condensation can be  dispensed with or recycled. This offers a helpful means to enhance students’ “Green awareness”. Two designs using the “CDS” technique are introduced, namely (i) Micro-scale water-less reflux and distillation and (ii) Micro-scale recycled coolant and all-glass reflux and distillation. The first design can be totally homemade with local resources and by acquiring decent workshop skills, details of construction of its various components are provided.