How are the plates in a Fractional Distillation Tower regulated?

[prasannapakkiam]

My teacher can't explain it. My textbook is awful at it. So can someone explain clearly what the role of the fractionnating columns are; in the Fractional Distillation Tower.

 

[siddharth]

You can search the internet for reliable information on this.

For example,
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining4.htm
http://wulfenite.fandm.edu/labtech/fractdistill.htm
http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/distil/distil0.htm

and so on...
If you don't understand something specific, ask away and we'll be glad to help.

 

[prasannapakkiam]

Thanks. The first site was the most useful. So the idea is that each plate is at a different temperature. So how exactly is this regulated?