Fractional condensation is a
laboratory technique used to
separate the components of a
vapor containing a
mixture of
substances. This is done by taking advantage of the fact that the different
chemicals have different
boiling points. The mixture undergoes repeated
condensations, where the
chemical with the highest
boiling point condenses out of the
vapor first and can be separated from the rest, then the
chemical with the next highest
boiling point condenses out, etc.
From the BioTech Dictionary at http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/. For further information see the BioTech homenode.