Fractional distillation

Fractional distillation is harder to acheive than a simple distillation, as this involves the separation of multiple components. The wider spaced the boiling points, the easier this is to acheive. In order to improve the efficiency of the separation, columns are often employed between the distillation flask and the still head. These are designed to increase the surface area and there are a number of common types of specialist columns used to acheive this.