ANS:C - mixing of steam with the material being vaporised is not so intimate as to result in equilibrium condition.

In the process of steam distillation, the steam leaving the liquid is not completely saturated with distillate vapor because: Mixing of steam with the material being vaporized is not so intimate as to result in equilibrium condition. Explanation:

• Steam distillation is a technique used to separate temperature-sensitive compounds from a mixture by passing steam through the mixture.
• Unlike simple distillation where the vapor phase is in equilibrium with the liquid phase, in steam distillation, the vapor leaving the liquid is not in complete equilibrium with the liquid.
• This lack of equilibrium is primarily due to the fact that the mixing of steam with the material being vaporized is not intimate enough to achieve equilibrium conditions.
• In steam distillation, the steam carries volatile components from the liquid mixture with it, but the mixing may not be thorough enough to establish equilibrium between the vapor phase and the liquid phase.
• As a result, the steam leaving the liquid is not completely saturated with distillate vapor, leading to the separation of volatile components from the mixture.