Distillation Apparatus Setup – Hints – 360° Interactive Exercise

That is not quite right. Have another go.

Look through the five vacuum distillation apparatus scenes by clicking on the A-E buttons in the image below. Try to identify any hazards/errors within the five scenes.

When you spot the distillation apparatus with the fewest errors, click on the button to the right to see if you are correct.

Additional activity: Make a list of good and poor practice within the five vacuum distillation apparatus scenes above. When you are presented with the answers, you can self-evaluate your hazard perception skills.

Disclaimer: We have deliberately introduced health and safety issues into these vacuum distillation apparatus scenes for educational purposes.  We do not condone bad lab practice, but allowing learners to see such scenarios can help develop hazard perception skills and a general appreciation of health and safety. We have not highlighted all hazards in these exercises. Best practice may differ in your institution so please discuss this with a local instructor before setting up any apparatus.

Which scenario has the fewest errors? There are hints below to help.

Have you considered the following :

  • – Is a lab jack being used?
  • – Should clips be used?
  • – What size heating block is used?
  • – How is water entering the condenser?
  • – Is the setup clamped correctly?
  • – Is a thermometer being used?

Note 1: You can assume all the joints are correctly greased.

Note 2: Not all aspects may be visible in each image.

Provided by the