define : distillation?

Distillation is a process which is used to separate a mixture of two miscible liquids that boil without decomposition and at different temperatures. When the difference in the boiling point of the two liquids is 25K or more, we use simple distillation. However when the differences in the boiling points of the components of a mixture is less than 25K, fractional distillation is employed. The boiling point of water is 100 degree Celsius (373 on Kelvin scale) while the boiling point of acetone is 56 degree Celsius (329K on K scale). The difference between the boiling points of the two compounds is 44K, which is much greater than 25K. Hence simple distillation can be used to easily separate the mixture of acetone and water.

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