How could you separate a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water?

Answer 1

To separate these, use distillation. Heat up the solution, and the alcohol will rise. Collect the water, and then the alcohol at the other end of the equipment!

The simplest and most common way of separating water and alcohol is through distillation. Multiple distillations can be conducted to obtain a high percentage of alcohol, but will eventually form an azeotropic mixture, which can be separated no further through simple distillations.

By distillation, alcohol boils at a lower temperature(78.1*C) vs. (100*C)for water. By heating it to its boil point you would turn into vapor. With the right equipment you can channel this vapor to another container where can cool and condense back into a liquid, leaving behind only water.

Answer 2

this is a mixture, called a solution. you could place this mixture into a distiallation apparatus and use the difference in boiling points to separate them. the alcohol has a much lower BP, probably in the range of 50 to 70 centigrade (look it up). if you heat the solution to about 3 degrees above the BP of the alcohol, but many degrees below 100 (the BP for water), only the alcohol will boil off, leaving you with just water in the flask. the alcohol will condense and be captured in the receiving flask at the end of the condenser. (great question, don't forget this answer)

Answer 3

Previous answer: "You can use distillation to separate alcohol and water due to their different boiling points."

Not quite. You can partially separate alcohol (ethanol) and water due to their different boiling points. Water and ethanol form what is called an azeotrope, meaning that at a certain concentration of ethanol (somewhere around 94-96% I think, not sure) you can not separate the water and ethanol to any greater extent through distillation. It is still possible to get 100% ethanol, but this has to be acheived either through exhaustively exact synthesis or using a water sequestration or drying agent on a water ethanol mixture and re-purifying the ethanol by whatever process is relevant.
to separate this liquid -liquid mixture we must use-

fractional distillation

because alcohol for eg. methyl alcohol boils @ 64.7 C

& water @ 100 C

Answer 4

Because the boiling point of isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) and ethyl alcohol are so close (making them an azeotrope), you can't do a standard distillation. Instead you use a technique called azeotropic distillation utilizing methyl ethyl ketone, cyclopentane or 2-pyrrolidinone (among many others) to break the azeotrope.

Alternatively you can perform extractive distillation using salicylic acid or methyl benzoate (among others) as the non-azeotropic solvent.

Wikipedia has articles on both forms of distillation.

Answer 5

To separate an alcohol - water liquid -liquid mixture use fractional distillation. It is still not easy because azeotropes are formed. The distilled alcohol can be dried over quick lime or anhydrous calcium sulfate or similar to remove the water that will still remain.

Answer 6

water and alcohol can be separated by, adsorption.

also by distillation.

Answer 7

Fractional distillation, by exploiting their different boiling temperatures.

Answer 8

distillation

Answer 9

Separation is possible by distillation.

Answer 10

Fractional distillation