Question

Why is ethanol distilled off before adding water?

Answer 1

Distilling ethanol off does have an effect on the wotkup of this reaction. Usually one needs to separate the reaction product and eductd or side products afterwards by separation between an aqueous and organic phase. Having ethanol in the mixture prevents the separation. In order to idola te the product we need to distill ethanol off before adding water because water would also be distilled off

Answer 2

Distilling ethanol off does have an effect on the workup of this reaction. Usually one needs to separate the reaction product and educts or side products afterwards by separation between an aqueous and an organic phase. Having ethanol in the mixture prevents the two phases from separating. In order to isolate your product you will need to distill ethanol off before adding water, because water would also be distilled off, if you added it first.