THERMODYNAMICS, SEPARATIONS, AND EQUILIBRIUM

Thermodynamics is the branch of science that deals with the movement of energy between materials, very frequently fluids (liquids and gases). There are two essential elements (1) the state of the material, in other words, its physical characteristics such as temperature or specific voume and (2) the processes that the materials that make up the system may undergo as energy is exchanged. 

A critical component of thennodynamics is the definition of the system. The system is usually the materials contained within a physical space, such as a unit of equipment. However, it can also be a subset of the materials within that physical space. The system will exchange energy with the surroundings, all of the material located outside the system. 

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D. Blankschtein, G. Thurston, G. Benedek. Phenomenological theory of equilibrium thermodynamic properties and phase separation of micellar solutions. J Chem Phys 25 7268-7288, 1986. 

The examples cited above are only two of the many possible cases of H-bond isomerization. Because of the low kinetic barriers separating these species, equilibration of H-bonded isomer populations to limiting thermodynamic values is generally expected to be much faster than for covalent isomers. Methods of quantum statistical thermodynamics can be used to calculate partition functions and equilibrium population distributions for H-bonded isomers,41 just as in the parallel case for covalent isomers and conformers. 

In membrane osmometry the two compartments of an osmometer are separated by a semi-permeable membrane only solvent molecule can penetrate through the semi-permeable membrane which is closed except for capillary tubes. The polymer solute remains confined to one side of the osmometer and the activity of the solvent is different in the two compartments. Because of the thermodynamic drive towards equilibrium a difference in liquid level in the two capillaries results. 

The Ki for HSA binding to racemic warfarin has been reported for 3-6 pM by various techniques, including frontal analysis and equilibrium dialysis, and is temperature- and pH-dependent. See Loun, B., Hage, D.S. Chiral separation mechanisms in protein-based HPLC columns. 1. Thermodynamic studies of (R)- and (S)-warfarin binding to immobilized human serum albumin. Anal. Chem. 1994, 66, 3814-3822. 

On top of the PU solution the same quantity of PAN solution was poured with great care to prevent emulsification at the liquid interface. Thermodynamic equilibrium between the two phases was unlikely. After three days the volume of the PU phase had decreased by about 5%. After the solution had stood for eight days, the two layers were separated, and the different emulsions were prepared by vigorous stirring of different proportions of the two liquids. The emulsions thus obtained were stable for at least one day. 

In colloid science, the terms thermodynamically stable and metastable mean that a system is in a state of equilibrium corresponding to a local minimum of free energy (Ref. [978]). If several states of energy are accessible, the lowest is referred to as the stable state and the others are referred to as metastable states unstable states are not at a local minimum. Most colloidal systems are metastable or unstable with respect to the separate bulk phases. See also Colloid Stability, Kinetic Stability. 

Well-defined products from the chaotic turmoil, which is a chemical reaction, result from a balance between external thermodynamic factors and the internal molecular parameters of chemical potential, electron density and angular momentum. Each of the molecular products, finally separated from the reaction mixture, is a new equilibrium system that balances these internal factors. The composition depends on the chemical potential, the connectivity is determined by electron-density distribution and the shape depends on the alignment of vectors that quenches the orbital angular momentum. The chemical, or quantum, potential at an equilibrium level over the entire molecule, is a measure of the electronegativity of the molecule. This is the parameter that contributes to the activation barrier, should this molecule engage in further chemical activity. Molecular cohesion is a holistic function of the molecular quantum potential that involves all sub-molecular constituents on an equal basis. The practically useful concept of a chemical bond is undefined in such a holistic molecule. 

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