fractionation

[ frak-shuh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of fractionating.
2. the state of being fractionated.
3. Military. the division of a missile's payload into several warheads.

fractionation

/ frăk′shə-nā′shən /

1. The separation of a chemical compound into components by fractional crystallization or fractional distillation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fractionation¹

First recorded in 1925–30; fractionate + -ion

Example Sentences

“As a result, that kind of fractionation really doesn’t help you understand either the level of investment very directly, or the impact,” Wayburn said.

From Los Angeles Times

It also plans to build two natural gas processing plants and a fractionation unit to separate the various components of NGLs.

From Reuters

During the quarter, the company saw operational records for natural gas pipeline volumes and natural gas liquids fractionation volumes.

From Reuters

But Santorum described the plasma fractionation industry as more interested in keeping shareholders happy than adopting new technologies that would require expensive modifications to their manufacturing lines.

From Washington Times

Moving forward, activity-guided fractionation — an old technique for identifying enzymes that involves the iterative separation and biological testing of protein mixtures prepared from natural sources — might return.

From Nature