The main goal of short route distillation is to make it easier to separate heavy molecules quickly and effectively. Short-route distillation, also called fractional distillation, is a simple way to separate compounds with different volatiles by evaporating them under low pressure.
The method is called “short path distillation” because the distilled materials only move a few millimetres inside the equipment. Short-route distillation is often used to eliminate odours, fatty acids, gasoline, polyurethane, and oils like CBD oil.
How Short Path Distillation Works
Short route distillation makes it easier to distillate a substance because it uses the melting points of the materials instead of a solvent. First, the material to be extracted is put in a feed vessel. Then, it is moved to a hot flask. Over time, the extract inside the flask and the flask itself will heat up, which will speed up the evaporation process.
The substance being evaporated has a lower boiling point because, in addition to the heat, a vacuum is created inside the flask, which lowers the air pressure in the system. This is why short route distillation makes separating molecules with more mass easier. The vacuum speeds up the evaporation rate by pulling the vapours into the fractionating tube. When the process of condensation is done, the different fractions will go down their weight gradients to their flasks. The extracted material can be put through the short route distillation equipment more than once to get the best separation and refinement of the product.
Pros of Using a Short Distillation Path
short path distillation is an excellent alternative because it has many valuable qualities that make it suitable for many uses. Here are just a few of the many good things about this method:
Size Reduction:
In the process of purifying, short route distillation takes up little space. Its small size makes it perfect for use in labs where there isn’t much room for other equipment.
The fact that short-route distillation is easy to use is a big plus since it makes it possible to do things quickly and easily. In contrast to most traditional distillation methods, short route distillation needs more minor, more straightforward equipment that can still make very pure distillates.
Saves Resources:
The compound must only move a few centimetres from the heated flask to the condenser tube in a short path distillation system. This means that less of the substance is wasted during the process. Because of this, very little of the substance leaks out of the machine. So, short path distillation is helpful when a costly component needs to be distilled because it helps cut down on waste.
Applications
Short path distillation is used in the pharmaceutical and food sectors. Short route distillation uses include:
- Hemp oil extraction
- Oil processing
- Fragrance-making
- Fuel-making
- Polyurethane distilling
- Distilling high-temp compounds