Which process is used to separate components in a mixture based on their volatility?

The process that separates components in a mixture based on their volatility is distillation. Distillation works by heating a liquid mixture to create vapor, which then condenses back into a liquid at lower temperatures. Different components in the mixture have varying boiling points, meaning they will vaporize and condense at different temperatures. This allows for the separation of the components as they are collected at different stages during the process.

For instance, in a simple distillation setup, the mixture is heated, and as the temperature rises, the component with the lowest boiling point vaporizes first. This vapor then travels through a condenser, where it cools and returns to a liquid state, while the remaining components, which require higher temperatures to vaporize, remain in the original container. By controlling the temperature and collecting the distillate at different points, pure fractions of each component can be obtained.

Other methods, such as chromatography and sublimation, do have unique applications for separation but do not fundamentally rely on volatility in the same straightforward manner as distillation. Chromatography separates based on the distribution of components between stationary and mobile phases, while sublimation involves a solid transforming directly to vapor without passing through a liquid state. Filtration separates based on particle size, which is not