Editing Retort (section)

{{Short description|Any of various heated vessels used in chemistry or industry}}
{{About||cremation furnaces called retorts|Cremation|industrial pressure cookers called retorts|Pressure cooking}}
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[[File:Alambique 056.jpg|thumb|A copper retort]]
[[File:My retort.jpg|thumb|300px|A glass retort]]

In a [[chemistry]] laboratory, a '''retort''' is a device used for [[distillation]] or [[dry distillation]] of substances. It consists of a [[sphere| spherical]] vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The [[liquid]] to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heated. The neck acts as a [[condenser (laboratory) |condenser]], allowing the vapors to condense and flow along the neck to a collection vessel placed underneath.<ref>"retort" in Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/500078/retort>.
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In the [[chemical industry]], a '''retort''' is an airtight vessel in which substances are heated for a chemical reaction producing gaseous products to be collected in a collection vessel or for further processing.  Such industrial-scale retorts are used in [[shale oil extraction | shale-oil extraction]], in the production of [[charcoal]] and in the recovery of [[Mercury (element) |mercury]] in [[gold-mining]] processes or from [[hazardous waste]].  A process of heating [[oil shale]] to produce [[shale oil]], [[oil shale gas]], and [[spent shale]] is commonly called '''retorting'''. Airtight vessels to apply pressure as well as heat are called [[Autoclave (industrial) |autoclaves]].

In the [[food industry]], [[pressure cookers]] are often referred to as "retorts", meaning "[[canning]] retorts" for sterilization under high temperature (116–130&nbsp;°C).

[[Image:Distillation_by_Retort.png|thumb|300px|Retort in use]]