Editing Distillation (section)

==History==
=== Iron Age ===
Early evidence of distillation was found on [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] tablets dated {{Circa|1200 [[BCE]]}} describing perfumery operations. The tablets provided textual evidence that an early, primitive form of distillation was known to the [[Babylonia]]ns of ancient [[Mesopotamia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Levey |first=Martin |title=Chemistry and Chemical Technology in Ancient Mesopotamia |date=1959 |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76ILAQAAIAAJ |quote=As already mentioned, the textual evidence for Sumero-Babylonian distillation is disclosed in a group of Akkadian tablets describing perfumery operations, dated ca. 1200 B.C.}}</ref>

=== Classical antiquity ===

==== Greek and Roman terminology ====
According to British chemist T. Fairley, neither the Greeks nor the Romans had any term for the modern concept of distillation. Words like "distill" would have referred to something else, in most cases a part of some process unrelated to what now is known as distillation. In the words of Fairley and German chemical engineer Norbert Kockmann respectively:
{{Blockquote|text=The Latin "distillo," from de-stillo, from stilla, a drop, referred to the dropping of a liquid by human or artificial means, and was applied to any process where a liquid was separated in drops. To distil in the modern sense could only be expressed in a roundabout manner.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fairley |first=T. |date=1907 |title=The Early History of Distillation |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2050-0416.1907.tb02205.x |journal=Journal of the Institute of Brewing |language=en |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=559–582 |doi=10.1002/j.2050-0416.1907.tb02205.x}}</ref>}}
{{Blockquote|text=Distillation had a broader meaning in ancient and medieval times because nearly all purification and separation operations were subsumed under the term ''distillation'', such as filtration, crystallization, extraction, sublimation, or mechanical pressing of oil.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kockmann |first=Norbert |url=https://www.academia.edu/43754849 |title=Distillation: Fundamentals and Principles |publisher=Academic Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-12-386547-2 |editor-last=Andrzej |editor-first=Górak |pages=1–43 |language=en |chapter=History of Distillation |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-386547-2.00001-6 |editor-last2=Sorensen |editor-first2=Eva}}</ref>}}According to Dutch chemical historian [[Robert Jacobus Forbes|Robert J. Forbes]], the word ''distillare'' (to drip off) when used by the Romans, e.g. [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] and [[Pliny the Elder]], was "never used in our sense".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Forbes |first=R. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XeqWOkKYn28C |title=A Short History of the Art of Distillation: From the Beginnings Up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|BRILL]] |year=1948 |isbn=978-90-04-00617-1 |pages=15 |orig-date=Reprinted 1970}}</ref>

==== Aristotle ====
[[Aristotle]] knew that water condensing from evaporating seawater is fresh:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aristotle. |url=https://archive.org/details/aristotle0000hdpl/page/n7/mode/2up |title=Meteorologica |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1952 |pages=2.3, 358b |language=Ancient Greek, English |translator-last=Lee |translator-first=H. D. P. |orig-date=c. 340 BC}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=I have proved by experiment that salt water evaporated forms fresh, and the vapour does not, when it condenses, condense into sea water again.}}
Letting seawater evaporate and condense into freshwater cannot be called "distillation" for distillation involves boiling, but the experiment may have been an important step towards distillation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Forbes |first=R. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XeqWOkKYn28C |title=A Short History of the Art of Distillation: From the Beginnings Up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|BRILL]] |year=1948 |isbn=978-90-04-00617-1 |pages=14 |orig-date=Reprinted 1970}}</ref>

==== Alexandrian chemists ====
{{See also|Desalination#History|Distilled water#History}}
[[File:Zosimos distillation equipment.jpg|thumb|Distillation equipment used by the 3rd century alchemist [[Zosimos of Panopolis]],<ref>{{cite book|page=203|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=earQAAAAMAAJ|title=The Volatile Oils|author1=Gildemeister, E. |author2=Hoffman, Fr. |author3=translated by Edward Kremers |volume=1|location=New York|publisher=Wiley|year=1913}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780618221233/page/88 88]|title=The History of Science and Technology|author1=Bryan H. Bunch|author2=Alexander Hellemans|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2004|isbn=978-0-618-22123-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780618221233/page/88}}</ref> from the [[Byzantine Greek]] manuscript ''Parisinus graces.''<ref>[[Marcelin Berthelot|Berthelot, Marcelin]] (1887–1888) [https://archive.org/details/collectiondesanc01bert ''Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs'']. 3 vol., Paris, p. 161</ref>]]Early evidence of distillation has been found related to [[Alchemy|alchemists]] working in [[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]] in [[Roman Egypt]] in the 1st century CE.<ref name="Forbes" />{{rp|pp=57,89}}

Distilled water has been in use since at least {{Circa|200 CE}}, when [[Alexander of Aphrodisias]] described the process.<ref name="Taylor">{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=F. |year=1945 |title=The evolution of the still |journal=Annals of Science |volume=5 |issue=3 |page=185 |doi=10.1080/00033794500201451}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Berthelot |first=M. P. E. M. |date=1893 |title=The Discovery of Alcohol and Distillation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IisDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA85 |url-status=live |journal=The Popular Science Monthly |volume=XLIII |pages=85–94 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129151553/https://books.google.com/books?id=IisDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA85 |archive-date=29 November 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Work on distilling other liquids continued in early [[Byzantine Egypt]] under [[Zosimus of Panopolis]] in the 3rd century.

=== Ancient India and China (1–500 CE) ===
Distillation was practiced in the ancient [[Indian subcontinent]], which is evident from baked clay [[retort]]s and receivers found at [[Taxila]], [[Shaikhan Dheri]], and [[Charsadda]] in [[Pakistan]] and [[Rang Mahal, Sri Ganganagar|Rang Mahal]] in [[India]] dating to the early centuries of the [[Common Era]].<ref>[[John Marshall (archaeologist)|John Marshall]], ''Taxila'', '''2''':[https://books.google.com/books?id=IOnUugEACAAJ&q=water-condensers&pg=PA420 420] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213050510/https://books.google.com/books?id=IOnUugEACAAJ&newbks=0&lpg=PP1&vq=water-condensers&pg=PA420 |date=13 December 2022 }}, 1951</ref><ref>Frank Raymond Allchin, "India: the ancient home of distillation?" ''Man'', New Series '''14''':1:55-63 (1979) [https://www.samorini.it/doc1/alt_aut/ad/allchin-india-the-ancient-home-of-distillation.pdf full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220212010/https://www.samorini.it/doc1/alt_aut/ad/allchin-india-the-ancient-home-of-distillation.pdf |date=20 December 2019 }}</ref><ref>Javed Husain, "The So-Called 'Distillery' at Shaikhan Dheri - A Case Study", ''Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society'' '''41''':3:289-314 (Jul 1, 1993)</ref> [[Frank Raymond Allchin]] says these terracotta distill tubes were "made to imitate bamboo".<ref>Frank Raymond Allchin, "India: the ancient home of distillation?" ''Man'', New Series '''14''':1:55-63 (1979) [https://www.samorini.it/doc1/alt_aut/ad/allchin-india-the-ancient-home-of-distillation.pdf full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220212010/https://www.samorini.it/doc1/alt_aut/ad/allchin-india-the-ancient-home-of-distillation.pdf |date=20 December 2019 }}</ref> These "[[Gandhara]] stills" were only capable of producing very weak [[liquor]], as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat.<ref name="habib">[[Irfan Habib|Habib, Irfan]] (2011), [https://books.google.com/books?id=K8kO4J3mXUAC&pg=PA55 ''Economic History of Medieval India, 1200–1500'']. [[Pearson Education]]. p. 55. {{ISBN|9788131727911}}</ref>

Distillation in China may have begun at the earliest during the [[Eastern Han]] dynasty (1st–2nd century CE).<ref name="Haw"/>

=== Islamic Golden Age ===
{{Main|Fractional distillation#History}}
{{See also|Liquor#History of distillation}}
Medieval [[Alchemy and chemistry in the medieval Islamic world|Muslim chemists]] such as [[Jabir ibn Hayyan|Jābir ibn Ḥayyān]] (Latin: Geber, ninth century) and [[Abu Bakr al-Razi|Abū Bakr al-Rāzī]] (Latin: Rhazes, {{circa|865–925}}) experimented extensively with the distillation of various substances.  The [[fractional distillation]] of organic substances plays an important role in the works attributed to Jābir, such as in the [[Seventy Books|{{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Sabʿīn}}]] ('The Book of Seventy'), translated into Latin by [[Gerard of Cremona]] ({{Circa|1114–1187}}) under the title {{lang|la|Liber de septuaginta}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kraus|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Kraus (Arabist)|year=1942–1943|title=Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam. I. Le corpus des écrits jâbiriens. II. Jâbir et la science grecque|publisher=Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale|location=Cairo|oclc=468740510|isbn=9783487091150}} Vol. II, p. 5. On the attribution of the Latin translation to Gerard of Cremona, see {{cite journal|last1=Burnett|first1=Charles|year=2001|title=The Coherence of the Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo in the Twelfth Century|journal=Science in Context|volume=14|issue=1–2|pages=249–288|doi=10.1017/S0269889701000096|s2cid=143006568}} p. 280; {{cite journal|last1=Moureau|first1=Sébastien|year=2020|title=Min al-kīmiyāʾ ad alchimiam. The Transmission of Alchemy from the Arab-Muslim World to the Latin West in the Middle Ages|journal=Micrologus|volume=28|issue=|pages=87–141|hdl=2078.1/211340|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/211340}} pp. 106, 111.</ref> The Jabirian experiments with fractional distillation of animal and vegetable substances, and to a lesser degree also of mineral substances, is the main topic of the {{lang|la|De anima in arte alkimiae}}, an originally Arabic work falsely attributed to [[Avicenna]] that was translated into Latin and would go on to form the most important alchemical source for [[Roger Bacon]] ({{circa|1220–1292}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=William R. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdLk3YPZiLEC&pg=PA35 |title=Instruments and Experimentation in the History of Chemistry |date=2000 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=9780262082822 |editor1-last=Holmes |editor1-first=Frederic L. |editor1-link=Frederic L. Holmes |location=Cambridge |pages=35–54 |chapter=Alchemy, Assaying, and Experiment |author1-link=William R. Newman |editor2-last=Levere |editor2-first=Trevor H.}} p. 44.</ref>

The distillation of [[wine]] is attested in Arabic works attributed to [[Al-Kindi|al-Kindī]] ({{Circa|801–873 CE}}) and to [[Al-Farabi|al-Fārābī]] ({{Circa|872–950}}), and in the 28th book of [[Al-Zahrawi|al-Zahrāwī]]'s (Latin: Abulcasis, 936–1013) ''{{Lang|ar-latn|[[Al-Tasrif|Kitāb al-Taṣrīf]]}}'' (later translated into Latin as ''{{Lang|la|Liber servatoris}}'').<ref>{{cite book|last1=al-Hassan|first1=Ahmad Y.|author-link=Ahmad Y. al-Hassan|year=2009|chapter=Alcohol and the Distillation of Wine in Arabic Sources from the 8th Century|title=Studies in al-Kimya': Critical Issues in Latin and Arabic Alchemy and Chemistry|location=Hildesheim|publisher=Georg Olms Verlag|pages=283–298}} (same content also available on [http://www.history-science-technology.com/notes/notes7.html the author's website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229003135/http://www.history-science-technology.com/notes/notes7.html |date=29 December 2015 }}); cf. {{cite book|last1=Berthelot|first1=Marcellin|author1-link=Marcellin Berthelot|last2=Houdas|first2=Octave V.|year=1893|title=La Chimie au Moyen Âge|volume=I–III|location=Paris|publisher=Imprimerie nationale}} vol. I, pp. 141, 143.</ref> In the twelfth century, recipes for the production of ''{{Lang|la|aqua ardens}}'' ("burning water", i.e., ethanol) by distilling wine with [[salt]] started to appear in a number of Latin works, and by the end of the thirteenth century it had become a widely known substance among Western European chemists.<ref>{{cite book|last=Multhauf|first=Robert P.|author-link=Robert P. Multhauf|year=1966|title=The Origins of Chemistry|location=London|publisher=Oldbourne|isbn=9782881245947}} pp. 204–206.</ref> The works of [[Taddeo Alderotti]] (1223–1296) describe a method for concentrating alcohol involving repeated distillation through a water-cooled still, by which an alcohol purity of 90% could be obtained.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holmyard |first1=Eric John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Bt-kwKRUzUC&pg=PA51 |title=Alchemy |date=1957 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-486-26298-7 |location=Harmondsworth |author1-link=Eric John Holmyard}} pp. 51–52.</ref>

=== Medieval China ===
The distillation of beverages began in the [[Southern Song dynasty|Southern Song]] (10th–13th century) and [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin]] (12th–13th century) dynasties, according to archaeological evidence.<ref name="Haw">{{cite book |author=Haw, Stephen G. |title=Marco Polo in China |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-27542-7 |pages=147–148 |chapter=Wine, women and poison |quote=The earliest possible period seems to be the Eastern Han dynasty ... the most likely period for the beginning of true distillation of spirits for drinking in China is during the Jin and Southern Song dynasties |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSfvfr8VQSEC&pg=PA148}}</ref> A still was found in an archaeological site in Qinglong, [[Hebei]] province, China, dating back to the 12th century. Distilled beverages were common during the [[Yuan dynasty]] (13th–14th century).<ref name="Haw" />

=== Modern era ===
In 1500, German alchemist [[Hieronymus Brunschwig]] published ''{{Lang|la|[[Liber de arte distillandi de simplicibus]]}}'' (''The Book of the Art of Distillation out of Simple Ingredients''),<ref>{{cite book |first=Hieronymus |last=Braunschweig |author-link=Hieronymus Braunschweig |date=1500 |title=Liber de arte distillandi de simplicibus |trans-title=The Book of the Art of Distillation out of Simple Ingredients|language=de |url=https://bildsuche.digitale-sammlungen.de/index.html?c=viewer&bandnummer=bsb00031146&pimage=7&v=2p&nav=&l=de}}</ref> the first book solely dedicated to the subject of distillation, followed in 1512 by a much expanded version. Right after that, in 1518, the oldest surviving distillery in Europe, [[The Green Tree Distillery]], was founded.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-28 |title=These Are 5 Oldest Companies In Europe. Ever Heard Of Any Of Them? |url=https://www.boredpanda.com/these-are-5-oldest-companies-in-europe-even-heard-of-any-of-them/ |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=Bored Panda |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1651, [[John French (doctor)|John French]] published ''The Art of Distillation'',<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=French |author-link=John French (doctor) |date=1651 |title=The Art of Distillation |publisher=Richard Cotes |location=London |url=http://www.levity.com/alchemy/jfren_ar.html}}</ref> the first major English compendium on the practice, but it has been claimed<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1021/ie50318a015|year=1936|title=Distillation|journal=Industrial & Engineering Chemistry|volume=28|issue=6|pages=677}}</ref> that much of it derives from Brunschwig's work. This includes diagrams with people in them showing the industrial rather than bench scale of the operation.
[[File:Hieronymus Brunschwig Liber de arte Distillandi CHF AQ13x3.jpg|thumb|Hieronymus Brunschwig's ''Liber de arte Distillandi de Compositis'' (Strassburg, 1512) [https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/podcast/the-alchemical-quest Science History Institute]]]
[[File:My retort.jpg|thumb|A [[retort]]]]
[[File:Distillation by Retort.png|thumb|Distillation]]
[[File:UkrainianVodkaStill.jpg|thumb|Old Ukrainian vodka still]]
[[File:Dorf Lore - Schnaps-Destillation.jpg|thumb|Simple liqueur distillation in [[East Timor]]]]

As [[alchemy]] evolved into the science of [[chemistry]], vessels called [[retort]]s became used for distillations. Both [[alembic]]s and retorts are forms of [[Laboratory glassware|glassware]] with long necks pointing to the side at a downward angle to act as air-cooled [[Condenser (heat transfer)|condensers]] to [[Condensation|condense]] the distillate and let it drip downward for collection. Later, copper alembics were invented. Riveted joints were often kept tight by using various mixtures, for instance a dough made of rye flour.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Sealing Technique |url=http://www.copper-alembic.com/manufacturing/specs_sealing.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104173651/http://www.copper-alembic.com/manufacturing/specs_sealing.php |archive-date=2012-11-04 |access-date= |website=copper-alembic}}</ref> These alembics often featured a cooling system around the beak, using cold water, for instance, which made the condensation of alcohol more efficient. These were called [[pot still]]s. Today, the retorts and pot stills have been largely supplanted by more efficient distillation methods in most industrial processes. However, the pot still is still widely used for the elaboration of some fine alcohols, such as [[cognac (drink)|cognac]], [[Scotch whisky]], [[Irish whiskey]], [[tequila]], [[rum]], [[cachaça]], and some [[vodka]]s. Pot stills made of various materials (wood, clay, stainless steel) are also used by [[Rum-runner|bootleggers]] in various countries. Small pot stills are also sold for use in the domestic production<ref>[http://www.essentialoil.com/alembic5.html Traditional Alembic Pot Still] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121163501/https://www.essentialoil.com/alembic5.html |date=21 November 2006 }}, accessed 16 November 2006.</ref> of flower water or [[essential oils]].

Early forms of distillation involved batch processes using one vaporization and one condensation. Purity was improved by further distillation of the condensate. Greater volumes were processed by simply repeating the distillation. Chemists reportedly carried out as many as 500 to 600 distillations in order to obtain a pure compound.<ref name=Othmer>Othmer, D. F. (1982) "Distillation – Some Steps in its Development", in W. F. Furter (ed) ''A Century of Chemical Engineering''. {{ISBN|0-306-40895-3}}</ref>

In the early 19th century, the basics of modern techniques, including pre-heating and [[reflux]], were developed.<ref name=Othmer/> In 1822, Anthony Perrier developed one of the first continuous stills, and then, in 1826, Robert Stein improved that design to make his [[column still|patent still]]. In 1830, [[Aeneas Coffey]] got a patent for improving the design even further.<ref>{{cite patent |inventor-first=A. |inventor-last=Coffey |inventor-link=Aeneas Coffey |title=Apparatus for Brewing and Distilling |country-code=GB |patent-number=5974 |publication-date=5 August 1830 |issue-date=5 February 1831}}; [http://www.kennetpans.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=231&Itemid=405 image] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204221819/http://kennetpans.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=231&Itemid=405 |date=4 February 2017 }}</ref> Coffey's continuous still may be regarded as the [[archetype]] of modern petrochemical units. The French engineer Armand Savalle developed his steam regulator around 1846.<ref name="Forbes" />{{rp|p=323}} In 1877, [[Ernest Solvay]] was granted a U.S. Patent for a tray column for [[ammonia]] distillation,<ref>{{cite patent |inventor-first=Ernest |inventor-last=Solvay |inventor-link=Ernest Solvay |country-code=US |patent-number=198699 |title=Improvement in the Ammonia-Soda Manufacture |publication-date=2 June 1876 |issue-date=25 December 1877}}</ref> and the same and subsequent years saw developments in this theme for oils and spirits.

With the emergence of [[chemical engineering]] as a discipline at the end of the 19th century, scientific rather than empirical methods could be applied. The developing [[petroleum]] industry in the early 20th century provided the impetus for the development of accurate design methods, such as the [[McCabe–Thiele method]] by [[Ernest Thiele]] and the [[Fenske equation]]. The first industrial plant in the United States to use distillation as a means of ocean desalination opened in [[Freeport, Texas]] in 1961 with the hope of bringing [[water security]] to the region.<ref name="Transcript">{{cite web |title=Making the Deserts Bloom: Harnessing nature to deliver us from drought, Distillations Podcast and transcript, Episode 239 |url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/podcast/making-the-deserts-bloom |website=Science History Institute|date=March 19, 2019 |access-date=27 August 2019}}</ref>
The availability of powerful computers has allowed direct [[computer simulation]]s of distillation columns.