Activity freezing point

Even in 1928, Harman (34) concluded from conductivity, transfer numbers, activity coefficients, hydrolysis, osmotic activity, freezing point data, phase relations, and diffusion experiments that there are only two simple silicates, NajSiOj and NaHSiOa, and that silicates in the SiO rNajO ratio range of 2 1 to 4 1 become increasingly colloidal. ... 

Since the principal hazard of contamination of acrolein is base-catalyzed polymerization, a "buffer" solution to shortstop such a polymerization is often employed for emergency addition to a reacting tank. A typical composition of this solution is 78% acetic acid, 15% water, and 7% hydroquinone. The acetic acid is the primary active ingredient. Water is added to depress the freezing point and to increase the solubiUty of hydroquinone. Hydroquinone (HQ) prevents free-radical polymerization. Such polymerization is not expected to be a safety hazard, but there is no reason to exclude HQ from the formulation. Sodium acetate may be included as well to stop polymerization by very strong acids. There is, however, a temperature rise when it is added to acrolein due to catalysis of the acetic acid-acrolein addition reaction. 

Sucrose is often used as a decorative agent to impart a pleasing appearance to baked goods and confections (36). In jams and jeUies, sugar raises osmotic pressure and lowers water activity to prevent spoilage (18). Sucrose is a fermentation substrate for lactic acid in cultured buttermilk (40) and lowers the freezing point of ice cream and other frozen desserts to improve product mouthfeel and texture. 

These chemicals are generally marketed as water solutions (20 to 30% active). Alcohols are usually added to lower the freezing point and keep the inhibitor chemical in solution. 

Freezing point methods are often applied to the measurement of activities of electrolytes in dilute aqueous solution because the freezing point lowering, 6= T — T, can be determined with high accuracy, and the solute does not dissolve in the solid to any appreciable extent. Equations can be derivedgg relating a to 9 instead of T and T. The detailed expressions can be found in the literature.16... 

Boiling point measurements of sufficient accuracy to obtain reliable activities are not easy to make. It is difficult to ensure that equilibrium conditions are achieved in the still. As a result, boiling point measurements, unlike freezing point measurements, are not often used to determine these quantities. 

For a detailed discussion of the calculation of activities (and excess Gibbs free energies) from freezing point measurements, see R. L. Snow. J. B. Ott. J. R. Goates. K. N. Marsh, S. O Shea, and R. N. Stokes. "(Solid + Liquid) and (Vapor + Liquid) Phase Equilibria and Excess Enthalpies for (Benzene + //-Tetradecane), (Benzene + //-Hexadecane). (Cyclohexane + //-Tetradecane), and (Cyclohexane +//-Hexadecane) at 293.15, 298.15, and... 

The depression of the activity may be measured in various ways. The most obvious would involve a measurement of the vapor pressure lowering, but this method is superseded by others both in accuracy and in simplicity of execution. The boiling point elevation and freezing point depression methods relegated vapor pressure measurement... 

In the freezing point depression method, one measures the temperature lowering AT/ required to render the activity of the solvent in the solution equal to that of the pure crystalline solvent (referred to the pure liquid as the standard state see above). Then... 

The solvent s activity can be determined by measuring the saturation vapor pressure above the solution. Such measurements are rather tedious and their accuracy at concentrations below 0.1 to 0.5M is not high enough to produce reliable data therefore, this method is used only for concentrated solutions. The activity can also be determined from the freezing-point depression or boiling-point elevation of the solution. These temperature changes must be ascertained with an accuracy of about 0.0001 K, which is quite feasible. This method is used primarily for solutions with concentrations not higher than 1M. 

Hedenquist, J.W. and Henley, R.W. (1985) The importance of CO2 on freezing point mea.surements of fluid inclusions evidence from active geothermal systems and implications for epithermal ore deposition. Econ. Geol, 50, 1379-1406. 

Ethylene glycol is not as active in depression of the freezing point as methanol, but it has a very low vapor pressure evaporation loss in a coolant system is due more to the evaporation of water than to the evaporazation of ethylene glycol. Furthermore, the flammability problem is literally eliminated. 1 1 mixtures of ethylene glycol and water do not exhibit a flash point at all. 

Similarly, concepts of solvation must be employed in the measurement of equilibrium quantities to explain some anomalies, primarily the salting-out effect. Addition of an electrolyte to an aqueous solution of a non-electrolyte results in transfer of part of the water to the hydration sheath of the ion, decreasing the amount of free solvent, and the solubility of the nonelectrolyte decreases. This effect depends, however, on the electrolyte selected. In addition, the activity coefficient values (obtained, for example, by measuring the freezing point) can indicate the magnitude of hydration numbers. Exchange of the open structure of pure water for the more compact structure of the hydration sheath is the cause of lower compressibility of the electrolyte solution compared to pure water and of lower apparent volumes of the ions in solution in comparison with their effective volumes in the crystals. Again, this method yields the overall hydration number. 

From a thermodynamic standpoint, freezing point measurements and isopiestic measurements are similar since both yield directly the activity of the solvent. When done carefully, freezing point data can generate activity coefficient values at concentrations down to 0.001 molal. During the first half of this century, much activity coefficient data was obtained from freezing point measurements. However, the popularity of this technique has decreased and is seldom used for aqueous solutions at the present time. 

Perhaps the most important parameter involved in aqueous-organic mixtures is their effective protonic activity (denoted by pH or pan). This parameter has been measured for most commonly used buffers in all selected mixtures down to their freezing point (Hui Bon Hoa and Douzou, 1975 Douzou ei al., 1976). Values of pH depend on solvent and temperature in a way that varies for different buffers, but with the data available a medium of known pH under any desired condition may be prepared. An example of the effect of solvent and temperature is provided by Tris-HCl buffer a solution of this at pH 8.0 in water at 20 C will be pH 10.5 in 50% (v/v) ethanediol at -40 C (Douzou et al, 1976). On the other hand, neutral buffers such as phosphate undergo... 

Perhaps the method of most general applicability for determining activities of nonelectrolytes in solutions is the one based on measurements of the lowering of the freezing point of a solution. As measurements are made of the properties of the solvent, activities of the solute are calculated by methods described in the preceding section. 

Elaborate procedures have been developed for obtaining activity coefficients from freezing-point and thermochemical data. However, to avoid duplication, the details will not be outlined here, because a completely general discussion, which is applicable to solutions of electrolytes as well as to nonelectrolytes, is presented in Chapter 21 of the Third Edition of this book [6]. 

Activity data for electrolytes usually are obtained by one or more of three independent experimental methods measurement of the potentials of electrochemical cells, measurement of the solubility, and measurement of the properties of the solvent, such as vapor pressure, freezing point depression, boiling point elevation, and osmotic pressure. All these solvent properties may be subsumed under the rubric colligative properties. 

As we saw in Section 17.5, the activity coefficient of a nonelectrolyte solute can be calculated from the activity coefficient of the solvent, which, in turn, can be obtained from the measurement of colligative properties such as vapor pressure lowering, freezing point depression, or osmotic pressure. We used the Gibbs-Duhem equation in the form [Equation (17.33)]... 

Equation 6.56 is known as the equation of lowering of freezing point and is valid for solid mixtures crystallizing from multicomponent melts. Like the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, it tells us how the system behaves, with changing T, to maintain equilibrium on the univariant curve. However, whereas in the Clausius-Clapeyron equation equilibrium is maintained with concomitant changes in 7) here it is maintained by appropriately varying the activity of the component of interest in the melt and in the solid mixture. 

A unitless correction factor that relates the relative activity of a substance to the quantity of the substance in a mixture. Activity coefficients are frequently determined by emf (electromotive force) or freezing-point depression measurements. At infinite dilution, the activity coefficient equals 1.00. Activity coefficients for electrolytes can vary significantly depending upon the concentration of the electrolyte. Activity coefficients can exceed values of 1.00. For example, a 4.0 molal HCl solution has a coefficient of 1.76 and a 4.0 molal Li Cl has a value of... 

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