Editing Fractionating column (section)

{{Short description|Equipment to separate liquids by distillation}}
[[File:A giant distillation tower in Arak.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Giant fractionating column of [[Arak Oil Refinery]] manufactured by [[Machine Sazi Arak|Machine Sazi Arak (MSA)]]]]
A '''fractionating column''' or '''fractional column''' is equipment used in the [[distillation]] of liquid mixtures to separate the mixture into its component parts, or fractions, based on their differences in [[Volatility (chemistry)|volatility]]. Fractionating columns are used in small-scale laboratory distillations as well as large-scale industrial distillations.