Liquid three-component phase diagram

Three-Phase Transformations in Binary Systems. Although this chapter focuses on the equilibrium between phases in binary component systems, we have already seen that in the case of a entectic point, phase transformations that occur over minute temperature fluctuations can be represented on phase diagrams as well. These transformations are known as three-phase transformations, becanse they involve three distinct phases that coexist at the transformation temperature. Then-characteristic shapes as they occnr in binary component phase diagrams are summarized in Table 2.3. Here, the Greek letters a, f), y, and so on, designate solid phases, and L designates the liquid phase. Subscripts differentiate between immiscible phases of different compositions. For example, Lj and Ljj are immiscible liquids, and a and a are allotropic solid phases (different crystal structures). 

A one-component system (C = 1) has two independent state variabies (T and p). At the tripie point three phases (soiid, iiquid, vapour) coexist at equiiibrium, so P = 3. From the phase ruie f = 0, so that at the tripie point, T and p are fixed - neither is free but both are uniqueiy determined. If T is free but p depends on T (a sloping line on the phase diagram) then f = 1 and P = 2 that is, two phases, solid and liquid, say, co-exist at equilibrium. If both p and T are free (an area on the phase diagram) F = 2 and P = 1 only one phase exists at equilibrium (see Fig. A1.18). 

Of course, LC is not often carried out with neat mobile-phase fluids. As we blend solvents we must pay attention to the phase behavior of the mixtures we produce. This adds complexity to the picture, but the same basic concepts still hold we need to define the region in the phase diagram where we have continuous behavior and only one fluid state. For a two-component mixture, the complete phase diagram requires three dimensions, as shown in Figure 7.2. This figure represents a Type I mixture, meaning the two components are miscible as liquids. There are numerous other mixture types (21), many with miscibility gaps between the components, but for our purposes the Type I mixture is Sufficient. 

Liquid-Fluid Equilibria Nearly all binary liquid-fluid phase diagrams can be conveniently placed in one of six classes (Prausnitz, Licntenthaler, and de Azevedo, Molecular Thermodynamics of Fluid Phase Blquilibria, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J., 1998). Two-phase regions are represented by an area and three-phase regions by a line. In class I, the two components are completely miscible, and a single critical mixture curve connects their criticsu points. Other classes may include intersections between three phase lines and critical curves. For a ternary wstem, the slopes of the tie lines (distribution coefficients) and the size of the two-phase region can vary significantly with pressure as well as temperature due to the compressibility of the solvent. 

In the case of a unary or one-component system, only temperature and pressure may be varied, so the coordinates of unary phase diagrams are pressure and temperature. In a typical unary diagram, as shown in Figure 3.11, the temperature is chosen as the horizontal axis by convention, although in binary diagrams temperature is chosen as the vertical axis. However, for a one-component system, the phase rule becomes F=l-P+2 = 3-P. This means that the maximum number of phases in equilibrium is three when F equals zero. This is illustrated in Figure 3.11 which has three areas, i.e., solid, liquid, and vapour In any... 

Temperature and pressure are the two variables that affect phase equilibria in a one-component system. The phase diagram in Figure 15.1 shows the equilibria between the solid, liquid, and vapour states of water where all three phases are in equilibrium at the triple point, 0.06 N/m2 and 273.3 K. The sublimation curve indicates the vapour pressure of ice, the vaporisation curve the vapour pressure of liquid water, and the fusion curve the effect of pressure on the melting point of ice. The fusion curve for ice is unusual in that, in most one component systems, increased pressure increases the melting point, whilst the opposite occurs here. 

A sublimation process is controlled primarily by the conditions under which phase equilibria occur in a single-component system, and the phase diagram of a simple one-component system is shown in Figure 15.30 where the sublimation curve is dependent on the vapour pressure of the solid, the vaporisation curve on the vapour pressure of the liquid, and the fusion curve on the effect of pressure on the melting point. The slopes of these three curves can be expressed quantitatively by the Clapeyron equation ... 

An interesting example of a one-component systems is SiOa, which can exist in five different crystalline forms or as a liquid or a vapor. As C = 1, the maximum number of phases that can coexist at equilibrium is three. Each phase occupies an area on the T P diagram the two-phase equilibria are represented by curves and the three-phase equilibria by points. Figure 13.1 (2, p. 123), which displays the equUi-brium relationships among the sohd forms of Si02, was obtained from calculations of the temperature and pressure dependence of AG (as described in Section 7.3) and from experimental determination of equUibrium temperature as a function of equilibrium pressure. 

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