Question Details

The technique used for purification of steam volatile water immiscible substance is

Options

A

Fractional distillation

B

Distillation under reduced pressure

C

Steam distillation

D

Simple distillation

Correct Answer :

Steam distillation

Solution :

The correct option is Steam distillation.

Explanation:
Steam distillation is a specialized separation and purification technique used for compounds that are heat-sensitive (thermolabile) and meet the following specific criteria:
1. They must be immiscible (or practically insoluble) in water.
2. They must be volatile in steam.
3. They must have a significant vapor pressure at the boiling point of water.

When steam is passed through a mixture containing such a water-immiscible substance, both the water and the organic liquid contribute to the total vapor pressure of the system. According to Dalton's law of partial pressures, the total vapor pressure (Ptotal) of the mixture is the sum of the vapor pressure of water (Pw) and that of the organic liquid (Po):
Ptotal = Pw + Po
Since the mixture boils when Ptotal equals the atmospheric pressure (Patm), the boiling point of the mixture is always lower than the boiling point of pure water (100 °C) and significantly lower than the boiling point of the organic substance. This allows the organic substance to vaporize and distill over at a much lower temperature, preventing its thermal decomposition.

Analysis of other options:
- Simple distillation: Used for liquids with sufficiently high difference in boiling points (typically greater than 25 °C) and which are stable at their boiling points.
- Fractional distillation: Used to separate miscible liquids whose boiling points are close to each other.
- Distillation under reduced pressure (Vacuum distillation): Used for purifying liquid compounds that decompose at or below their normal boiling points, but does not specifically rely on steam volatility or water-immiscibility.

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