Which process is used to separate mixtures based on vapor pressure differences?

Distillation is a separation process that utilizes differences in vapor pressure to separate components of a mixture. When a liquid mixture is heated, the component with the lower boiling point vaporizes first due to its higher vapor pressure. This vapor is then collected and condensed back into a liquid form, allowing for the separation of different components based on their boiling points.

In contrast, filtration involves passing a mixture through a filter to separate solids from liquids or gases based on particle size. Centrifugation uses rapid spinning to separate components based on density, while extraction separates substances based on their solubility in different solvents. These methods do not rely on vapor pressures and are thus fundamentally different from the distillation process.