Question

Explain what happens when a solution containing 90% water and 10% alcohol is distilled. Can pure alcohol be obtained from this mixture by distillation?

Answer 1

When a mixture of 90% water and 10% alcohol is distilled, the alcohol will evaporate and condense first, due to its lower boiling point.

No, it cannot produce pure alcohol from this mixture because they form an azeotrope at approximately 95.6% alcohol and 4.4% water. This means that at that specific concentration, the liquid and vapor have the same composition, and further distillation will not increase the alcohol concentration.