Answer to Question #298911 in Physical Chemistry for Amit

Question

Explain the process of steam distillation

Answer 1

- Steam distillation is a separation technique that harnesses the low boiling point property of immiscible mixtures and used to separate temperature sensitive organic molecules from a non volatile contaminants.

- In steam distillation, the immiscible mixture is heated to boiling , causing the distillation of both water and the volatile organic compounds.

- The gaseous mixture travels upwards to a condenser which then condenses the vapour to liquid so that it can be collected.

- The immiscible organic compound is slowly distilled along with the water while non volatile component remains in the heated mixture.

- Once the organic component is distilled, it can be separated from the water using liquid-liquid extraction.