# Retort

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{{Short description|Any of various heated vessels used in chemistry or industry}}
{{About||cremation furnaces called retorts|Cremation|industrial pressure cookers called retorts|Pressure cooking}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2008}}
thumb|A copper retort
thumb|300px|A glass retort

In a [chemistry](/source/chemistry) laboratory, a '''retort''' is a device used for [distillation](/source/distillation) or [dry distillation](/source/dry_distillation) of substances. It consists of a [spherical](/source/sphere) vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The [liquid](/source/liquid) to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heated. The neck acts as a [condenser](/source/condenser_(laboratory)), allowing the vapors to condense and flow along the neck to a collection vessel placed underneath.<ref>"retort" in Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/500078/retort>.
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In the [chemical industry](/source/chemical_industry), a '''retort''' is an airtight vessel in which substances are heated for a chemical reaction producing gaseous products to be collected in a collection vessel or for further processing.  Such industrial-scale retorts are used in [shale-oil extraction](/source/shale_oil_extraction), in the production of [charcoal](/source/charcoal) and in the recovery of [mercury](/source/Mercury_(element)) in [gold-mining](/source/gold-mining) processes or from [hazardous waste](/source/hazardous_waste).  A process of heating [oil shale](/source/oil_shale) to produce [shale oil](/source/shale_oil), [oil shale gas](/source/oil_shale_gas), and [spent shale](/source/spent_shale) is commonly called '''retorting'''. Airtight vessels to apply pressure as well as heat are called [autoclaves](/source/Autoclave_(industrial)).

In the [food industry](/source/food_industry), [pressure cookers](/source/pressure_cookers) are often referred to as "retorts", meaning "[canning](/source/canning) retorts" for sterilization under high temperature (116–130&nbsp;°C).

thumb|300px|Retort in use

==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 [Antoine Lavoisier](/source/Antoine_Lavoisier) and [Jöns Berzelius](/source/J%C3%B6ns_Berzelius).{{cn|date=May 2022}}

An early method for producing [phosphorus](/source/phosphorus) starts by roasting bones, and uses clay retorts encased in a very hot brick furnace to distill out the highly toxic product.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomson |first=Robert Dundas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LxBAAAAcAAJ&q=clay+retort+&pg=PA416 |title=Dictionary of Chemistry with Its Applications to Mineralogy, Physiology and the Arts |date=1870 |publisher=Rich. Griffin |language=en}}</ref>

The term ''retort'' comes by way of [Middle French](/source/Middle_French_language), but ultimately from [Latin](/source/Latin_language) ''retortus'', twisted back, for the shape of the neck.

==Role in analytical chemistry==
In [laboratory](/source/laboratory) use, due to advances in technology, especially the invention of the [Liebig condenser](/source/Liebig_condenser), retorts were largely considered to have been rendered obsolete as early as the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Distillation |volume=8 |page=320}}</ref> However, some [laboratory techniques](/source/laboratory_techniques) that involve simple distillation and do not require sophisticated apparatus may use a retort as a substitute for more complex distillation equipment.

==In biochar-pyrolysis industry==
A retort is a reactor that has the ability to [pyrolyze](/source/pyrolysis) pile-wood, or wood logs over {{convert|30|cm}} long and up to {{convert|18|cm}} in diameter.<ref>Emrich, W. 'Handbook of Charcoal Making, the Traditional and Industrial Methods'. D. Reidel Pub. Co., Hingham, MA, 1985, p 296</ref>

==See also==
*[Alembic](/source/Alembic)
*[Retort pouch](/source/Retort_pouch)
*[Retort stand](/source/Retort_stand)

==References==

<references/>

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Retorts}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}

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{{Laboratory equipment}}

Category:Alchemical tools
Category:Laboratory glassware

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Retort](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retort) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retort?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.