 For example, if a 50/50 mixture of ethanol and water is distilled once, the distillate will be 80% ethanol and 20% water, which is closer to the azeotropic mixture than the original, which means the solution left behind will be poorer in ethanol.Distilling the 80/20% mixture produces a distillate that is 87% ethanol and 13% water.Further repeated distillations will produce mixtures that are progressively closer to the azeotropic ratio of 95.5/4.5%.