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3600BC
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The oldest record of a distillation process dates about
3600 B.C..
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It was found at Tape Gowra in Mesopotamia, the
instrument was 48 cm high and 53 cm in largest diameter.
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The distillation pot had a capacity of about 40 liters
and the distillate collecting ring held about 2 liters.
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As a science, distillation and fractional distillation
had to await the discovery of the physical laws of Dalton (1766-1844) and Raoult (1830-1901). After that, the science of distillation
developed at an amazing rate.
Possibly the earliest definitive
work on distillation was this 6 Volumes work, writen by John French in
1651.
Its snappy title is:
THE
ART OF DISTILLATION
Or, ATreatise of the Choicest Spagyrical Preparations Performed by Way of Distillation, Being
Partly Taken Out of the Most Select Chemical Authors of the Diverse I, Anguages
and Partly Out of the Author's Manual Experience Together with, The Description of the Chiefest Furnaces and Vessels Used
by Ancient and Modern Chemists also A Discourse on Diverse Spagyrical Experiments and Curiosities, and of the Anatomy of Gold
and Silver, with The Chiefest Preparations and Curiosities Thereof, and Virtues of Them All.
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