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This is a paragraph from one of the Engines of Our Ingenuity that I have been enjoying.
www.uh.edu/engines/epi1.htm The author is a professor of engineering. So I was
surprised to find what seems to be a very obviously wrong choice of words.
"During the mid-1700s potash-making became an
American cottage industry. We used the burned-out
ashes from wood fires. We leeched them in big iron
kettles. Then we boiled the liquid and created a
potash distillate."
To me, the distillate is the water removed. What's left,the residue, is the potassium salts
and other solids. which I would call the product. I am genuinely surprised to see this author
make such a blunder. Any comments?
distilllate
n.
< L distillatus, pp. of distillare6
1 a product of distillation; liquid obtained by distilling
2 the essence of anything
Incidentally his "leech" I assume is typo for "leach".
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Interesting question. I'd think that the distillate what was left after you separated the water out or, in the case of alcohol, separated it out from the water.
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Just one. You are correct. The distillate is the condensed vapor that is boiled away during the distilling process.
TEd
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since meaning 2 is the essence of anything, and the potash (from pot ash-- you started with ashes from the fire place) is a in a very week solution, you then evaporate the water, to leave behind the potasium, (in the form of a salt.)
a whole industry of salt and chemical came from wood ashes- some of it evolved from indian practices of making a mild acid solutions, to treat corn to make hominy, and the common practice of burning to both clear the land, and enrich the soil.
Sodium bi-carbonate (baking soda ) is an other by product of distilling leach water.
Salt, (that is sodium cloride) was being extracted from brine in mining/chemical industries all over the north (and one place in Kentucky) Cape Cod,MA, Watkins Glenn, NY, Midland MI, were (and still are to some degree)industrial centers as a result of the brine opperations, there were many other places, to numerous to name.
after the sodium cloride was removed, other salts would also evaporate out.
at first, the brine left over after common salt was removed was considered waste, but later, it was refined further.
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What about the second meaning of distillate?
2 the essence of anything
Essence \Es"sence\, n. [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if
fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See {Is}, and cf. {Entity}.]
1. The constituent elementary notions which constitute a
complex notion, and must be enumerated to define it;
sometimes called the nominal essence.
2. The constituent quality or qualities which belong to any object, or class of objects, or on which they depend for
being what they are (distinguished as real essence); the real being, divested of all logical accidents; that quality which constitutes or marks the true nature of anything; distinctive character; hence, virtue or quality of a thing, separated from its grosser parts.
3. Constituent substance.
4. A being; esp., a purely spiritual being.
5. The predominant qualities or virtues of a plant or drug, extracted and refined from grosser matter; or, more strictly, the solution in spirits of wine of a volatile or essential oil; as, the essence of mint, and the like.
6. Perfume; odor; scent; or the volatile matter constituting perfume.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]
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From the beginning, distillation was used to separate liquids that had different boiling points.
In the making of potash, you are evaporating, not distilling. So product would be an evaporate.
evaporate
vt.
L evaporatus, pp. of evaporare < e3, out, from + vaporare, to emit vapor < vapor, VAPOR6
1 to change (a liquid or solid) into vapor; drive out or draw off in the form of vapor
2 to remove moisture from (milk, vegetables, fruits, etc.) by heating or drying so as to get a concentrated product
3 a) to deposit (a metal, metallic salts, etc.) by evaporation b) to drive out (neutrons, electrons, etc.)
vi.
1 to become vapor; pass off in the form of vapor
2 to give off vapor
3 to disappear like vapor; vanish
e[vap#o[ra4tion
n.
e[vap$o[ra#tive
adj.
e[vap$o[ra#tor
n.
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In that line above that I put in red, I took the liberty of changing a word that was simply
wrong. In chemistry, sublimation is the conversion of a solid to a vapor without going through
a liquid stage. Commonest example, in very cold weather icicles slowly decrease in size, even
though temperature remains far below freezing point.
So where my dictionary had "sublimation" I changed it to "evaporation."
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My dictionary does not have it, but I found many geology sites that mentioned
halite (rock salt) as an evaporite along with other rocks formed by
evaporation.
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old hand
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I'd think that the distillate what was left after you separated the water out Scientific jargon making its way back into everyday language, again. Much havoc is created that way  . The latin root of distil(l) actually stems from the drops of condensed vapor which fall into the receiving vessel. So distillate always refers to the component which is separated due to its (higher) volatility. The question of wether it was the useful component is secondary.
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old hand
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Sublimation is what happens to ice cubes if they sit in the freezer for too long without being used. One day, you go to get some ice, and the trays are empty! ...And you thought it was gnomes. 
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