What is fractional distillation and how does it work.

Fractional distillation uses a fractional distillation tower, split into different layers each with a different temperature. It is used to sperate crude oil into the many different fuels used commonly in everyday use and it is also commonly used to seperate liquified air.
It works by seperating the fractions to different temperatures, hotter at the bottom, and cooler at the top. What this does is allows only the more volatile fuels to be turned into a gas at each stage, and the less volatile stay as a liquid at the current stage of the process.

Answered by Chemistry tutor

2307 Views

See similar Chemistry GCSE tutors

Related Chemistry GCSE answers

All answers ▸

What is a mole?


How do I calculate the relative formula mass of FeSO4 and the number of moles, when the formula mass of O=16, S=32, Fe=56 and the mass of FeSO4= 380g


The halogens are elements in Group 7. Bromide is in Group 7. How many electrons are there in the outer shell of a bromine atom? (1 mark)


What is the test for CO2 gas? Describe the overall reaction that takes place in the instance of a positive result and write its reaction equation.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning