Question

Compare and contrast the techniques of microscale and miniscale distillation in terms of efficiency of distillation. what are advantages of each

Answer 1

Distillation is a process of separation of two liquids on the basis of their difference in the boiling points. There are two types of distillation process- Microscale distillation and miniscale distillation depending on the type of apparatus used for distillation.
In case of microscale distillation, microscale apparatus is used when the volume of liquid to be distilled is less than 5 ml. Whereas, in case of miniscale distillation, miniscale apparatus is used when the volume of liquid is more than  5 ml.
Hickman distilled head is used for microscale distillation whereas a bit larger vessels are used in miniscale distillation.
Micorscale and miniscale techniques have their own advantages. Both these techniques are cost effective, use less equipments and environmental friendly. Miniscale distillation is used yields more product which is easy to measure. Microscale distillation are difficult but it avoids large cumbersome distillation process and instruments.