Frakcionálás

Frakcionálás is a process used to separate a mixture into its individual components, known as fractions. This separation is typically achieved based on differences in physical properties, most commonly boiling point or solubility. The principle behind fractional separation is that as a mixture is heated or subjected to a specific solvent, the component with the lowest boiling point or highest solubility will vaporize or dissolve first, allowing it to be collected separately. Subsequent heating or addition of different solvents can then isolate other fractions.

A common example of fractional separation is fractional distillation, widely used in the petroleum industry to separate crude oil into various products like gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel. Each of these fractions has a different boiling point range. In this process, crude oil is heated, and the vapors rise through a fractionating column. As the vapors ascend, they cool, and components with higher boiling points condense at lower levels, while those with lower boiling points continue to rise before condensing at higher levels. Another application is in chemistry laboratories for purifying liquids or separating reaction products. Fractional crystallization is another form of separation where components of a mixture are separated based on differences in their solubility at varying temperatures. As a solution cools, the component that is least soluble at that temperature will crystallize out first.