Chapter 8 Phase Diagrams

(b) The interpretation of diagrams
For distillation, both vapor and liquid compositions are of interest.

Thus we combine the liquid composition diagram and vapor
composition diagram into one.
Point a represents the vapor pressure of a mixture with liquid

composition xA and b represents the composition of the vapor that is
in equilibrium with the liquid at that pressure. Note that when two
phases are in equilibrium, P = 2, so F = 1. Thus if composition is
specified, the pressure at which the two phases are in equilibrium is
fixed.
As we decrease the pressure we travel down the isopleth a (constant

composition vertical line) to a4, at p1 we have liquid with
composition a1 with very little vapor at composition a1. At p2 we
have liquid with composition a2 and vapor with composition a2 in
equilibrium ( the overall composition of the system is a2). Note also
that the two phases are in equilibrium and F = 1 for all points
between the two lines. Hence for a given pressure (such as p2) the
variance is zero, and the vapor and liquid phases have fixed
compositions. At p3 we have very little liq with composition a3 in
equilibrium with mostly vapor at composition a3. At a4 we have
pure vapor only.
(c) The Lever Rule
A point in the two-phase region of a phase diagram indicates not only

qualitatively that the liquid and vapor are present, but represents
quantitatively the relative amounts of each. To find the relative
amounts of two phases a & b in equilibrium, we measure distances
on the tie line, la and lb between the two phases and use the lever
rule:

where na is the amount of phase a and nb is the amount of phase b.
8.4 Temperature-composition diagrams
To discuss distillation, we need a temperature composition diagram

(pressure is held constant).
(a) The distillation of mixtures
The region between the lines in the above figure is a two-phase

region with F = 1 and hence at a given T, the composition of the
phases in equilibrium are fixed.
As we heat the liquid with composition from a1, it will start to boil
when it reaches T2. The vapor will be richer in the more volatile
component (A) and will have composition a2.
In a simple distillation the vapor is withdrawn and condensed. If the

vapor is completely withdrawn and condensed the first drop gives a
liquid of composition a3, which is richer in the more volatile

component, A, than the original liquid.
In Fractional distillation, the boiling and condensation cycle is

repeated successively. We can follow the next change by examining
what happens when the condensate of composition a3 is reheated.
The mixture will now boil at T3 and the composition of the vapor will
be a3. Then we go to a4 etc.
The efficiency of a fractionating column is expressed in terms of the

number of theoretical plates, the number of effective vaporization
and condensation steps that are required to achieve a condensate of
a given composition from a given distillate.
(b) Azeotropes
A maximum in a phase diagram may occur when favorable

interactions between A and B molecules reduce the vapor pressure of
the mixture below the ideal value. The excess Gibbs energy is
negative so the mixing is favorable and the liquids are miscible.
Examples are trichloromethane/acetone and nitric acid/water
mixtures.
Phase diagrams showing a minimum indicate that the mixture is

destabilized relative to the ideal solution, the A-B interactions then
being unfavorable. For such mixtures GE is positive (less favorable to
mixing than ideal), Examples are dioxane/water and ethanol water
mixtures.
Deviations from ideality have important consequences for

distillation.
Consider a liquid composition of a in the low boiling azeotrope. The

vapor (at a'2) of the boiling mixture (at a2) is richer in A. If that
vapor is removed (and condensed elsewhere) the remaining liquid
will move to a composition that is richer in B, such as that
represented by a3, and the vapor in equilibrium with this mixture
will have composition a'3. The boiling point of the liquid drops and
the vapor becomes richer in B. When the remaining liquid reaches
composition b, the vapor has the same composition as the liquid.
Evaporation occurs without change of composition. The mixture is
said to form an azeotrope. When the azeotrope is reached the two
liquids cannot be separated.
8.5 Liquid-liquid phase diagrams
We will study temperature-composition diagrams for systems that

consist of pairs of partially miscible liquids, (liquids that do not mix
in all proportions at all temperatures). When P = 2, F' = 1, and fixed T
will determine compositions of the immiscible liquid phases.
(a) Phase separation
Suppose small amount of B is soluble in A, as we add more B, the

stage comes when no more B dissolves and a second phase (P = 2)
appears. Under this condition the most abundant phase will be A
saturated with B (point a) and the minor phase will be B saturated
with A (point a). Relative abundance's of the two phases are given by
the lever rule.
Example 8.2 Interpreting a liquid-liquid phase diagram
A mixture of 50 g of hexane (0.59 mol) and 50 g nitobenzene (0.41

mol) was prepared at 290 K. What are the compositions of the
phases, and what proportions do they occur? To what temperature
must the sample be heated to obtain a single phase?
Method: The compositions of the phases are given by the points

where the tie line through the point representing the temperature
and overall composition of the system intersects the phase
boundary. Their proportions are given by the lever rule. The
temperature at which the components are completely miscible is
given by following the isopleth upwards and noting the temperature
it enters the one-phase region of the diagram.
Answer: We denote hexane by H and nitrobenzene by N. The point

xN = 0.41, T = 290, occurs in the two-phase region of the diagram. The
tie line indicates the phase boundaries at xN = 0.35 and xN = 0.83 (the
compositions of the two liquid phases).
The ratio of the amounts of each phase is equal to the ratio of the
distances la and lb.
There is about 7 times more nitrobenzene-rich phase than the

hexane-rich phase. Heating the sample to 292 K takes it into a single
phase region.
(b) Critical solution temperatures

The upper critical solution temperature (upper consolute
temperature), Tuc, is the highest temperature at which phase
separation occurs. Above this temperature, the two components are
fully miscible. This exists because the greater thermal motion will
overcome any potential energy advantage in molecules of one type
being close together.
Some systems show a lower critical solution temperature (lower

consolute temperature), Tlc, below which they mix in all
proportions and above which they form two phases. An example is
water and triethylamine. In this case at low T, they form a complex
that breaks up at higher T. Some systems have both!
(c) The distillation of partially miscible liquids
Consider a pair of liquids that are partially miscible and form a low
boiling azeotrope (a common system, because both properties reflect
the tendency of the two kinds of molecules to avoid each other).
The figure shows the phase diagram of a system in which the liquids
become fully miscible before they boil. Distillation of a mixture at a1
leads to vapor with composition b1, which condenses to completely
miscible solution at b2. Phase separation only occurs when the
distillate is cooled to a point in the two-phase region such as point
b3.
This description only applies to the first drop of distillate. If

distillation continues, the composition of the remaining liquid
changes. In the end, when the whole sample has evaporated, the
composition is back to a1.
This figure is for the situation in boiling occurs before complete

miscibility. There is no upper critical solution temperature.
The distillate obtained from a liquid initially of composition a1 has

composition b3 and is a two-phase mixture. One phase has
composition b'3 and the other has composition b"3.
The behavior represented by isopleth e is interesting. A system at e1,

forms two phases, which persist (but with changing proportions) up
to the boiling point e2. The vapor of this mixture has the same
composition as the liquid (azeotrope).

Similarly, condensing a
vapor of composition e3, gives a two-phase liquid of the same overall
composition. At fixed temperature, the mixture vaporizes and

condenses like a single substance.
Example 8.3 Interpreting a phase diagram
State the changes that occur when a mixture of composition xB = 0.95

is boiled and the vapor condensed.
Method The area in which the point lies gives the number of phases;
the compositions of the phases are given by the points at the
intersection of the horizontal tie line with the phase boundaries;
relative abundance's are given by lever rule.
Answer The initial point is a one phase region. When heated, boiling
occurs at T = 370 K and composition of liquid at a2. The vapor comp
is xB at b1 = 0.66. The liquid gets richer in B, and the last drop (of
pure B) evaporates at 392K. If the initial vapor is drawn off it has
composition of xB = 0.66.
The composition would be maintained if the sample were very large,

but for a finite sample it shifts to larger values and ultimately to xB =
0.95. Cooling the distillate corresponds to moving down the xB = 0.66
isopleth. At 350 K, the liq phase has composition xB = 0.87, and the
vapor, xB = 0.49. Their relative proportions are 1:3. at 340 K, the
sample is entirely liquid and consists of three phases, the vapor and
two liquid phases. One liquid phase has composition xB = 0.30, the
other xB = 0.80, in the ratio of 0.62:1.
Further cooling moves the system into a two phase region, and at 298
K the compositions are 0.20 and 0.90 with ratio 0.82:1. As further
distillate boils over, the overall composition of the distillate becomes
rich in B. When the last drop has been condensed, the phase
composition is the same as at the beginning.
8.6 Liquid-solid phase diagram

Consider the two-component liquid of composition a1 in the diagram
above. The changes can be described as follows:
(1) a1a2. The system enters the two phase region labeled
'liquid + B'. Pure solid B begins to come out of solution and the
remaining liquid becomes richer in A.
(2) a2a3. More of the solid forms, and the relative amounts
of the solid and liquid (which are in equilibrium) are given by the
lever rule. At this stage there are roughly equal amounts of each.
The liquid phase is richer in A than before (composition given by
b3) because some B has been deposited.
(3) a3a4. At the end of this step, there is less liquid than at
a3, and its composition is given by e. This liquid now freezes to
give a two-phase system of pure A and pure B.
(a) Eutectics
The isopleth at e corresponds to the eutectic composition. A liquid

with the eutectic composition freezes at a single temperature,
without previously depositing solid A or B. A solid with the eutectic
composition, melts without change of composition at the lowest
temperature of any mixture. Solutions with compositions to the right
of e deposit B as they cool, and those to the left deposit A as they cool.
Only the eutectic mixture (apart from pure A or solid B) solidifies at a
single definite temperature (F' = 0 when C =2 and P = 3) without
gradually unloading one or other of the components from the liquid.
Thermal analysis is a practical way of detecting eutectics. When a

liquid reaches its eutectic composition, the temperature remains
constant (F' = 0) until the whole sample solidifies. This is known as a
eutectic halt.
b) Reacting systems
Many binary mixtures react to produce compound. The GaAs system
is a technologically important one. Ga + As = GaAs, a two-component
system with three constituents. We will denote the compound AB as
C.
The principle change from the eutectic phase diagram is that the
whole of the phase diagram is squeezed into the range of
compositions lying between equal amounts of A and B (xB = 0.5) and
pure B. This tells us that the compound is formed of equimolar
amount of A and B, AB (not A2B or AB3). The solid deposited on
cooling along the isopleth a is the compound C. At temperatures

below a4 there are two solid phases, one consisting of C and the other
of B. At compositions on the left half of the diagram the solid consists

of A and C.
Three-component phase diagram
At any pint, the weight %'s add up to one. Water and vinyl acetate
are only partially miscible in a two-component system. Acetic acid
and vinyl acetate are totally miscible as well as water and acetic acid
in the respective two-component mixtures. The diagram is now for a
fixed T and p.

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Chapter 8 Phase Diagrams

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(b) The interpretation of diagrams

For distillation, both vapor and liquid compositions are of interest.

Point a represents the vapor pressure of a mixture with liquid

As we decrease the pressure we travel down the isopleth a (constant

(c) The Lever Rule

A point in the two-phase region of a phase diagram indicates not only

8.4 Temperature-composition diagrams

To discuss distillation, we need a temperature composition diagram

(a) The distillation of mixtures

The region between the lines in the above figure is a two-phase

In a simple distillation the vapor is withdrawn and condensed. If the

liquid of composition a3, which is richer in the more volatile

In Fractional distillation, the boiling and condensation cycle is

The efficiency of a fractionating column is expressed in terms of the

A maximum in a phase diagram may occur when favorable

Phase diagrams showing a minimum indicate that the mixture is

Deviations from ideality have important consequences for

Consider a liquid composition of a in the low boiling azeotrope. The

8.5 Liquid-liquid phase diagrams

We will study temperature-composition diagrams for systems that

(a) Phase separation

Suppose small amount of B is soluble in A, as we add more B, the

Example 8.2 Interpreting a liquid-liquid phase diagram

A mixture of 50 g of hexane (0.59 mol) and 50 g nitobenzene (0.41

Method: The compositions of the phases are given by the points

Answer: We denote hexane by H and nitrobenzene by N. The point

There is about 7 times more nitrobenzene-rich phase than the

(b) Critical solution temperatures

Some systems show a lower critical solution temperature (lower

(c) The distillation of partially miscible liquids

This description only applies to the first drop of distillate. If

This figure is for the situation in boiling occurs before complete

The distillate obtained from a liquid initially of composition a1 has

The behavior represented by isopleth e is interesting. A system at e1,

composition as the liquid (azeotrope).

composition. At fixed temperature, the mixture vaporizes and

Example 8.3 Interpreting a phase diagram

State the changes that occur when a mixture of composition xB = 0.95

The composition would be maintained if the sample were very large,

8.6 Liquid-solid phase diagram

The isopleth at e corresponds to the eutectic composition. A liquid

Thermal analysis is a practical way of detecting eutectics. When a

cooling along the isopleth a is the compound C. At temperatures

of B. At compositions on the left half of the diagram the solid consists

Three-component phase diagram

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