Assembly Line

Refining and distilling

A mixture is heated so its parts boil off at different temperatures, or treated so the impurities drop out. What remains is purer and worth more.

105 lines that use it

Acetic anhydride 5 stations · 2 raw sources Acetone 5 stations · 5 raw sources Acrylic acid 6 stations · 4 raw sources Air 4 stations Argon 5 stations · 1 raw source Asphalt 5 stations · 2 raw sources Baking soda 6 stations · 9 raw sources Benzene 5 stations · 4 raw sources Bourbon 6 stations · 19 raw sources Caffeine 7 stations · 7 raw sources Carbon monoxide 6 stations · 2 raw sources Caustic soda 5 stations · 2 raw sources Cobalt 6 stations · 9 raw sources Cocoa butter 6 stations · 1 raw source Coconut oil 6 stations · 1 raw source Cognac 6 stations · 19 raw sources Condensed milk 6 stations · 22 raw sources Copper 6 stations · 4 raw sources Corn syrup 6 stations · 2 raw sources Diesel fuel 5 stations · 6 raw sources Ethanol 6 stations · 6 raw sources Ethylene 5 stations · 3 raw sources Ethylene glycol 6 stations · 8 raw sources Gallium 5 stations · 4 raw sources Gasoline 6 stations · 6 raw sources Gelatin 7 stations · 4 raw sources Germanium 5 stations · 6 raw sources Gin 7 stations · 13 raw sources Glycerin 6 stations · 8 raw sources Gold 6 stations · 7 raw sources Hexane 5 stations · 3 raw sources Hydrogen 6 stations · 2 raw sources Hydrogen peroxide 6 stations · 3 raw sources Ibuprofen 5 stations · 2 raw sources Indium 5 stations · 4 raw sources Instant coffee 7 stations · 2 raw sources Insulin 7 stations · 11 raw sources Jam 6 stations · 10 raw sources Jet fuel 6 stations · 3 raw sources Lead 6 stations · 6 raw sources Licorice 6 stations · 10 raw sources Margarine 7 stations · 9 raw sources Mercury 5 stations · 2 raw sources Metallurgical silicon 8 stations · 3 raw sources Methanol 5 stations · 2 raw sources Mezcal 6 stations · 12 raw sources Motor oil 5 stations · 3 raw sources Mouthwash 8 stations · 17 raw sources mRNA vaccine 7 stations · 11 raw sources Naphtha 5 stations · 3 raw sources Natural gas 4 stations Neon 6 stations · 1 raw source Neon sign 9 stations · 24 raw sources Nickel 5 stations · 4 raw sources Nitric acid 5 stations · 3 raw sources Nitrogen gas 5 stations · 1 raw source Orange juice 8 stations · 2 raw sources Oxygen gas 5 stations · 1 raw source Palm oil 8 stations · 2 raw sources Para-xylene 5 stations · 3 raw sources Paraffin wax 6 stations · 3 raw sources Penicillin 7 stations · 11 raw sources Pentane 5 stations · 2 raw sources Perfume 7 stations · 13 raw sources Petroleum coke 6 stations · 1 raw source Phenol 5 stations · 5 raw sources Pig iron 6 stations · 4 raw sources Plasticizer 5 stations · 4 raw sources Polyethylene 6 stations · 3 raw sources Polypropylene 5 stations · 3 raw sources Polysilicon 5 stations · 8 raw sources Polystyrene 6 stations · 4 raw sources Polyvinylpyrrolidone 8 stations · 3 raw sources Powdered milk 6 stations · 1 raw source Propane 5 stations · 2 raw sources Propylene 5 stations · 3 raw sources Quartz 5 stations Railroad rail 9 stations · 12 raw sources Refrigerant 6 stations · 11 raw sources Rum 6 stations · 13 raw sources Scotch whisky 7 stations · 19 raw sources Silicone 6 stations · 9 raw sources Silver 6 stations · 8 raw sources Soap 8 stations · 19 raw sources Soda ash 8 stations · 9 raw sources Stainless steel 7 stations · 15 raw sources Steel 6 stations · 12 raw sources Styrene 5 stations · 4 raw sources Sugar 8 stations · 4 raw sources Sulfur 4 stations Super glue 6 stations · 7 raw sources Synthetic rubber 6 stations · 4 raw sources Table salt 5 stations · 2 raw sources Tequila 7 stations · 13 raw sources Titanium 5 stations · 9 raw sources Titanium dioxide 6 stations · 6 raw sources Toluene 5 stations · 4 raw sources Tonic water 5 stations · 19 raw sources Trichlorosilane 5 stations · 8 raw sources Vegetable oil 7 stations · 6 raw sources Vodka 7 stations · 15 raw sources Whiskey 7 stations · 13 raw sources White chocolate 7 stations · 10 raw sources Wood pulp 6 stations · 6 raw sources Zinc 6 stations · 4 raw sources

What it looks like on the line

  • TolueneDistill the three apart. Distillation columns split the BTX stream by boiling point. This one boils at 110.6 °C, between its two siblings, and comes off the column as a colorless liquid.
  • TrichlorosilaneDistill away the by-products. Silicon tetrachloride, hexachlorodisilane and dichlorosilane are the main by-products. Distillation separates the trichlorosilane from them.
  • NickelTurn it to a gas and back. In the Mond process, nickel is treated with carbon monoxide and forms nickel carbonyl gas. Heating the gas makes it fall apart, depositing pure nickel onto pellets that are constantly stirred.
  • PlasticizerSeparate the ortho-xylene. Reforming naphtha gives a mix of aromatics, and this one isomer is split out. It has slowly displaced naphthalene as the feedstock, partly because it is easier to transport.
  • Condensed milkBoil off the water. Water is evaporated under vacuum, which lets milk reduce without scorching or curdling. Roughly 60 percent of the water leaves.
  • AcetoneSeparate in columns. Distillation pulls apart the mixture. This product boils first, at 56.2 °C, far below phenol, so it comes off the top as a clear and flammable liquid.
  • Vegetable oilSteam out the smell. The oil is heated under vacuum to roughly 232 °C while steam is bubbled through from the bottom. The steam carries off volatile compounds that would taste or smell like beans. Deodorization is a core step in producing refined oil.
  • AirDistill the gases apart. Nitrogen boils at 77.4 K, argon at 87.3 K and oxygen at 90.2 K, so the columns peel them off in order. Argon builds up in the middle of the low-pressure column, where a side draw collects it.
  • Vegetable oilBleach out the color. A clay-like bleaching earth adsorbs the pigments, and filtering leaves the pale gold color shoppers expect.
  • PhenolDistill the two apart. Columns separate acetone, phenol and left-over cumene. Unused cumene returns to the start of the line.
  • LicoriceDraw out the sweet extract. The sweet, aromatic part of the root is pulled out as a concentrated dark extract. The main sweet compound is glycyrrhizin, and its flavor builds slowly and lingers longer than sugar does.
  • Diesel fuelDraw the middle cut. In the distillation tower, diesel condenses between kerosene above it and heavier gas oil below it. At normal pressure it boils off between 200 and 350 °C, and its molecules have 9 to 25 carbon atoms.