Chapter 3

RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION

Table 1. Experimental Data

Volume, mL Temperature, ºC Volume, mL Temperature, ºC
0 78 60 79
10 78 70 80
20 78 80 80
30 78 90 80
40 79 100 80
50 79
Average
79
Temperature

Table 1 shows the experimental temperature of the mixture at particular amounts of

distillate collected. It can be noticed that the temperature increases gradually as the amount of
distillate condensed increases. It was also observed that the distillate received or collected in
the graduated cylinder separates into two layers. These two layers were the components of the
mixture namely toluene and water. The water, having a greater density, settled at the lower
layer while the toluene composed the upper layer. After collecting a total of 100mL distillate,
the volume of the water layer and toluene layer were read and found to be 12mL and 82 mL
respectively. The average boiling temperature of the mixture was calculated to be 79ºC.

Table 2. Estimated Data

Vapor Pressure of Vapor Pressure of Total Vapor
Temperature, ºC
Toluene Water Pressure
50 0.1210 0.1214 0.2424
60 0.1824 0.1961 0.3785
70 0.2674 0.3068 0.5742
80 0.3822 0.4665 0.8487
90 0.5340 0.6911 1.2251
100 0.7306 1.0001 1.7307

Table 2 represents the estimated data or the “true values” for this experiment. The
vapor pressures of toluene and water were calculated using the formulae provided in the
Perry’s Chemical Engineer’s Handbook. The computations and formulae used are shown in
Appendix of this research. Total vapor pressure of the mixture was obtained by getting the sum
of the individual vapor pressures of the components of the mixture.
Table 3. Summary of Results
Estimated composition of distillate, %mol 44.3538
g toluene
Estimated composition of distillate, 4.0766
g water
kg
Density of toluene, 3 864.8238
m
kg
Density of water, 3 1001.0960
m
Experimental composition of distillate, %mol 43.4857
g toluene
Experimental composition of distillate, 3.7283
g water
Error in composition (%mol) 1.9572%
g toluene
Error in composition ( ) 8.5439%
g water
Experimental boiling point of mixture 79ºC
Error in boiling point 1.25%

Table 3 summarizes the results for this experiment. The estimated composition of the
mixture in terms of percentage mole was 44.3538% while its experimental composition was
43.4857%. Comparing these two, the error relative to the estimated value is 3.7283%. The
composition of the mixture was also expressed in terms of grams of toluene per gram of water.
The estimated value was 4.0766 while the experimental was 3.7283, giving a percentage error
of 8.5439%. The estimated boiling point of the mixture was 80ºC based on the graph.
Observations indicate that the average boiling point of the mixture was 79ºC. Thus, the error in
the boiling point was 1.25%.
 2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2 Vapor Pressure of

Pressure, atm

Water
1
Vapor Pressure of
Water
0.8
Total Vapor Pressure
0.6

0.4

0.2

0
60 70 80 90 100 110

Temperature, ºC

Figure 1. Pressure of vapor vs. Temperature

From the graph:
Estimated boiling point of mixture: 80 ºC
Vapor Pressure of Water at boiling point of mixture: 0.42 atm
Vapor Pressure of Toluene at boiling point of mixture: 0.37 atm
The figure on the previous page illustrates the relationship of vapor pressure with temperature.
All the graphs show similar trends i.e. as the temperature increases the vapor pressure of a
substance also does. At point where pressure is 0.8389 atm, the boiling point of mixture was
estimated to be 80ºC. From the line created by this estimation, vapor pressure of water and
toluene at boiling point of mixture were also estimated. They were found to be 0.42 atm and
0.37 atm respectively.