Laboratory Experiment

pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc

Constructing a Simple Distillation Apparatus To Purify Seawater: A

High School Chemistry Experiment
Alandra Kahl,† Danita Heller,‡ and Kim Ogden*,†
†
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, United States
‡
Department of Chemistry, Ironwood Ridge High School, 2475 West Naranja Drive, Tucson, Arizona 85742, United States
*
S Supporting Information

ABSTRACT: This experiment combines the chemistry of solution separation

via distillation with the engineering design process to motivate students in a
high school chemistry course. Students build upon their knowledge of phase
changes and solubility to complete a project related to chemical engineering by
desalinating a water sample similar to seawater. In general, students remove
very little of the salt, but the emphasis is on the creation of the system rather
than achievement of pure water. Resources for learning about distillation, an
exercise description, exercise worksheets, and assessment plans are provided in
the supporting information. This experiment fits well into a general chemistry
curriculum or an environmental science course. It takes a minimum of 5
standard (1 h) class periods, but can be expanded or downsized as is
appropriate. Student feedback was generally positive because the students
enjoyed solving a “real-world” problem.
KEYWORDS: High School/Introductory Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Laboratory Instruction, Physical Chemistry,
Hands-On Learning/Manipulatives, Inquiry-Based/Discovery Learning, Laboratory Equipment/Apparatus, Separation Science,
Water/Water Chemistry

D istillation of ocean water for drinking water is motivated

by a continuous increase in population, which is causing a
shortage in the available freshwater supply. Approximately 2.3
and tenet 1 of the Science and Engineering in Practice of the
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).5 Also addressed
are cross-cutting concepts, such as energy, patterns, and scale of
billion people (41% of the world population) live in regions the NGSS and strand 3, Science in Personal and Social
with water shortages.1 As a result, solutions are needed, and Perspective of the Arizona Science Standards. Finally, this
salt-water desalination has emerged as a key technology to experiment is applicable to fulfillment of the Earth and Space
fulfilling the water demand. Desalination is a general term for science portion of both the NGSS and Arizona Science
the process of removing salt from water to produce fresh water. Standards.

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Fresh water is defined as containing less than 1000 mg/L of
salts or total dissolved solids (TDS).2 Thermal desalination OVERVIEW OF LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
(distillation) has been used for hundreds of years to produce
fresh water, and large-scale municipal drinking water distillation This exercise centers on the fundamental concept of distillation,
plants began to operate during the 1950s.3 In this exercise, which ties in closely with the ideas of phase changes and
students research the distillation process and design their own solution separation. Distillation is a method of separating a
water purification systems. mixture based on volatility of components in a boiling liquid.
This inquiry-based experiment was developed to aid student Distillation is a physical operation, not a chemical reaction,
understanding of phase changes and solution separation and to making it ideal for an engineering design exercise in a chemistry
spark an interest in chemical engineering by applying laboratory. In the experiment, students design and build an
fundamental concepts to a real-world problem. Student engineered system to perform a distillation using the concept of
exposure to the engineering design process before college has solution separation to “purify contaminated water” or remove
shown to direct greater numbers of students to the engineering salt from water. The laboratory is conducted over five class
disciplines, particularly underrepresented minorities and periods: the first period encompasses the lecture about water
females.4 Application of fundamental concepts to real-world purification and creation of student groups; the second period
issues is an engagement tool that captures the interest of all and continues the discussion about the components of a water
is distinctly applicable to engineering and chemistry. purification system and troubleshooting student designs; the
Specifically, application of this laboratory captures strand 1, third and fourth periods include the setup of the water
inquiry processes, of the Arizona Science Standards including
observation, scientific testing and analysis, and communication Published: January 27, 2014
© 2014 American Chemical Society and
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. 554 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed400262v | J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 554−556
Journal of Chemical Education Laboratory Experiment

Figure 1. (A) Example of student distillation apparatus and (B) example recreated from the literature.7

Table 1. Example of a Student Data Table

Contaminated Water/g Distilled Water/g Salt Remaining/g
Container Container + Water Water Container Container + Water Water Container Container + Salt Salt
96.66 116.59 19.93 40.76 54.08 13.32 96.66 97.42 0.76

purification system and performance, and the fifth period is for

the student presentations.
■ STUDENT RESEARCH
Students are given two weeks to research the mechanics of
This is an engineering design process exercise, so students distillationwhat it is, how it is used in industry, and so
should be familiar with steps of the engineering design process forthand design their distillation apparatus. Student research
prior to beginning. The engineering design process allows is done outside of class time. In class during this period,
students to focus on inquiry (strand 1 of the Arizona Science students are guided by the instructor as to the feasibility of their
Standards). Students meet the standards of concepts 1−4 in apparatus (lecture available in Supporting Information). There
their investigation, having used observation and prediction of is also a video available for students to watch from online
outcomes, scientific testing and investigation, evaluation of their resources.6 Scaffolding is provided in the form of in-class
experimental design, and communication of their results to a discussions regarding the engineering design process, and
peer audience. Students are required to research distillation students are encouraged to self-reflect during the design
processes for their water purification system and submit a process. In class, students are encouraged to evaluate the design
design based on their research to the instructor before of other groups along with the instructor to troubleshoot
beginning construction. Student distillation apparatuses must designs. Students are supported by teacher and peer discussions
be approved for safety concerns by instructors prior to of the engineering design process aspects as they relate to their
construction and then again, before use. Students must also design. Several iterations of the distillation apparatus are
design a data table to record measurements useful in proving a expected as an aspect of monitoring student progress. Students
successful separation of the solution with their apparatus. must show that they have revisited the engineering design
Instructors provide students with a 4.0% NaCl solution (by process before they can proceed to building and testing their
apparatus.

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mass) to distill in their apparatus, and 0.1 M silver nitrate
solution to test the distillate upon culmination. In the presence
of salt, silver nitrate will generate a precipitate, visually MATERIALS AND PROCEDURE
indicating to the student that their distillate is not free of the Common chemistry glassware is used in this laboratory
salt. experiment. At least two 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks or beakers,

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rubber stoppers, and one hot plate should be available per
student group. Thinking outside the common experimental
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE
setup is especially encouraged in this laboratory, so other
Students are first introduced to the need for clean water materials (ice packs, plastic or metal tubing, etc.) should also be
throughout the world, what contaminants exist in water, and available for student use. Instructors also need to purchase at
the difficulty in purifying water. Then phase changes and least 100 cm of glass tubing per group and a glasscutter for use.
solution separation are discussed, and pictures of distillation Bunsen burners are provided to students along with relevant
apparatuses used by second-year engineering students are instruction and demonstration of the proper way to bend glass
shown (introductory notes are available in Supporting tubing.
Information). Finally, students form imaginary companies
consisting of groups of four individuals. The lecture by the
instructor and formation of the student groups is designed to
■ DISTILLATION
Students are given one single, regular period to build the water
be done in the first class period. Students are provided a purification systems and one block period to do the experiment.
handout describing the requirements of the experiment. An example of a student distillation apparatus (version found
555 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed400262v | J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 554−556
Journal of Chemical Education Laboratory Experiment

by students in literature and student rendering of their own The most cited criticism of the laboratory was the perceived
apparatus) and data table are provided in Figure 1 and Table 1, lack of instructor guidance. This can be attributed to limited
respectively. exposure of students to an inquiry-based laboratory process,
As expected, students were not able to fully separate the salt and the majority of students with this criticism also reported
from the water by their crude distillation apparatus. This was that they liked the ability to be creative in the construction of
confirmed by the addition of silver nitrate to the resulting their distillation setup.
solution. It should be noted that based on the cleanliness of the
vessels used, a more dilute silver nitrate solution may be used to
avoid a positive result from residual chloride on glassware.
■ CONCLUSIONS
To increase student exposure to the engineering design process,
Generation of the precipitate silver chloride showed the it was our intent to develop an engaging laboratory experience
presence of remaining salt as a visual aid. Emphasis here was applying chemistry concepts to a real-world problem. Early
not on the completeness of the distillation but on critical exposure of students to critical thinking and concept
evaluation of the system. Students were encouraged to think application in chemistry will benefit them in college and
about possible sources of contamination (clean glassware, beyond. This laboratory exercise serves to expose students in
tubing, etc.), as well as to report their observations during the engineering design process using their knowledge of
testing. For example, if students observed salt water bumping solution separation chemistry as a backbone. Students were
over into the distillate, instructors emphasized this point during able to design an apparatus to distill water from salt water, build
discussion. and test their design, and critically evaluate the results. General

■ HAZARDS AND SAFETY

Students are bending glass tubing to construct their distillation
student response to this laboratory was positive, with the main
criticism of students being the perceived lack of guidance. In
response, instructors will attempt to provide more compre-
apparatus, so care should be taken with glass and flame. hensive feedback to students during the design and testing
Students also insert glass tubing into rubber stoppers so care process. Peer evaluation will also be used more, as students
should be taken. Proper technique is demonstrated to eliminate respond positively and feel more involved in their learning if
they must provide feedback to others.

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injuries to the students. Hot plates are used to heat the salt
water, so care should be taken to avoid contact with the hot
surface. All proposed experimental set should be approved by ASSOCIATED CONTENT
the instructor prior to construction to ensure they are not *
S Supporting Information

closed systems. A closed system will result in pressure buildup Student laboratory handout; lecture notes; student survey. This
and be an explosion hazard. The chemicals used are safe (water material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
and salt).

■ PORTFOLIO AND PRESENTATIONS

■ AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
Following testing of their distillation apparatus, student groups *E-mail: ogden@email.arizona.edu.
collaborate on a simple design portfolio containing a 2−4 page Notes
paper detailing (1) the focus of their company and objective,
The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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(2) research relevant to the objective, (3) diagrams and data
tables from the construction and testing of their distillation ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
apparatus, (4) information regarding the efficiency and
limitations of their design, and (5) a discussion of why their The authors would like to acknowledge support from the NSF
GK-12 program, grant no. 0947836.

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design should be used over others. Students work outside of
class to create the portfolio. Students then make a presentation
REFERENCES
in class to their peers and the instructor that details the
construction and testing of their distillation apparatus. (1) Service, R. F. Desalination Freshens Up. Science 2006, 313

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(5790), 1088−1090.
(2) U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Sandia National Laboratories.
STUDENT RESPONSE TO THE LABORATORY Desalination and Water Purification RoadmapA Report of the
EXERCISE Executive Committee. DWPR Program Report #95; U.S. Department
Following the exercise, students were instructed to complete a of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation and Sandia National
brief survey to express their opinions of the experiment. Overall Laboratories: Denver, CO, 2003.
(3) Gleick, P. H. The World’s Water 2006−2007, The Biennial Report
student responses were favorable, and the majority of students
on Freshwater Resources, 1st ed; Island Press: Chicago, IL, 2006.
indicated that they found the laboratory to be highly (4) Sheppard, S.; Jenison, R. Examples of Freshman Design
informative, beneficial, exciting, and enjoyable. Students Education. Int. J. Eng. Educ. 1997, 13 (4), 190−204.
reported that “Application of the engineering design process (5) Arizona Department of Education, Standards Based Teaching and
allowed us to creatively solve the problem. We really had to Learning, “The Science Standard Articulated by Grade Level.” http://
analyze every step to build something that would work.” In www.azed.gov/standards-practices/science-standard/ (accessed Dec
response to the question “The one or two things I most 2013).
enjoyed with this lab were”, a student wrote: “Actually seeing a (6) Distillation.” http://youtu.be/xxNfJLMNS4E (accessed Dec
process which can be used in everyday life take place before 2013).
me.” Given the question “I felt this lab helped me understand (7) Ellervik, U.; Grudberg, H. A. Microscale Vacuum Distillation
Apparatus for Simple Separations. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76 (7), 986.
phase changes. Why or why not?” a student responded, “Yes,
because the research and hands on experiment allowed me to
fully understand the process that is involved.”
556 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed400262v | J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 554−556