The book of seventy, translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona and published under the title Liber de septuaginta, is one example of a work attributed to the fractional distillation of organic substances. The main subject of the De anima in arte alkimiae, an originally Arabic work that was translated into Latin and would later become Roger Bacon's most important alchemical source, is the Jabirian experiments with fractional distillation of animal, vegetable, and, to a lesser extent, mineral substances. In a Chinese archaeological site in Qinglong, Hebei province, a still from the 12th century was discovered. Between the 13th and 14th centuries, distilled beverages were popular. The book of the art of distillation out of simple ingredients, written by German alchemist Hieronymus in 1500, was the first book solely devoted to the subject of distillation. In 1512, a significantly expanded version of the book was published. The first major English compendium on distillation, The Art of Distillation, was published in 1651 by John French. However, it has been claimed that much of it is based on the work of Braunschweig.

This includes diagrams with people depicting the operation at the industrial rather than the bench scale. Retorts, or vessels, were used for distillations as alchemy became a branch of chemistry. Both alembics and retorts are types of glassware that have long necks that point to the side at an angle that goes down. These long necks serve as air-cooled condensers, allowing the distillate to condense and then drip down for collection. Copper alembics were developed later. Various mixtures, such as rye flour dough, were frequently used to keep riveted joints tight. The use of cold water, for instance, as a cooling system around the beak of these alembics enhanced the efficiency of alcohol condensation. The term for these was "pot stills." In most industrial processes, more effective distillation techniques have largely replaced retorts and pot stills. Cognac, Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, tequila, rum, cachaça and some vodkas are all produced in large quantities using pot stills. Bootleggers in a variety of nations also make use of pot stills made of wood, clay, and stainless steel. Additionally, small pot stills are available for domestic production of essential oils or flower water. Batch processes that involved one vaporization and one condensation were the early forms of distillation. The condensate was further distilled to improve purity. By simply repeating the distillation, larger volumes were processed. According to reports, in order to obtain a pure compound, chemists performed between 500 and 600 distillations.

With Regards,
Joseph Kent
Journal Manager
Journal of Der Chemica Sinica