During a distillation, what happens to the vapor and liquid phase?

During a distillation process, the primary goal is to separate components in a mixture based on their differing boiling points. When a liquid mixture is heated, the component with the lower boiling point tends to vaporize first.

As the mixture heats up, the vapor phase that is produced will be predominantly composed of the more volatile component, meaning that it has a lower boiling point and evaporates more readily than the other components in the mixture. This phenomenon occurs because the vapor pressure of the more volatile substance is greater, allowing it to escape the liquid phase more easily when heat is applied. This leads to the vapor being enriched in that more volatile component.

Conversely, the liquid phase that remains after some of the more volatile substance has been vaporized becomes progressively richer in the less volatile components. Therefore, during the distillation, as the vapor rises and is collected, it is concentrated with the more volatile substances, confirming that the vapor phase is indeed enriched in the more volatile component.