Retort
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In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances. It consists of a spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The liquid to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heated. The neck acts as a condenser, allowing the vapors to condense and flow along the neck to a collection vessel placed underneath.[1]
In the
In the
History
Retorts were widely used by alchemists, and images of retorts appear in many drawings and sketches of their laboratories. Before the advent of modern condensers, retorts were used by many prominent chemists, such as
An early method for producing phosphorus starts by roasting bones, and uses clay retorts encased in a very hot brick furnace to distill out the highly toxic product.[2]
The term retort comes by way of
Role in analytical chemistry
In
In biochar-pyrolysis industry
A retort is a reactor that has the ability to pyrolyze pile-wood, or wood logs over 30 centimetres (12 in) long and up to 18 centimetres (7.1 in) in diameter.[4]
See also
References
- ^ "retort" in Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/500078/retort>.
- ^ Thomson, Robert Dundas (1870). Dictionary of Chemistry with Its Applications to Mineralogy, Physiology and the Arts. Rich. Griffin.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 320.
- ^ Emrich, W. 'Handbook of Charcoal Making, the Traditional and Industrial Methods'. D. Reidel Pub. Co., Hingham, MA, 1985, p 296
External links
The dictionary definition of retort at Wiktionary
