Basic Chemical Engineering Definitions

Basic Chemical Engineering Definitions:

IDEAL SOLUTIONS:

In chemistry, an ideal solution or ideal mixture is a solution in which the enthalpy of solution (or "enthalpy of mixing") is zero the closer to zero the enthalpy of solution is, the more "ideal" the behavior of the solution becomes. Equivalently, an ideal mixture is one in which the activity coefficients (which measure deviation from ideality) are equal to one.

If the molecules are almost identical chemically, e.g. 1-butanol and 2-butanol, then the solution will be ideal. Since the interaction energies between A and B are the same, it follows that there is no overall energy (enthalpy) change when the substances are mixed. The more dissimilar the nature of A and B, the more strongly the solution is expected to deviate from ideality

Formal definition


An ideal mixture is defined as a mixture that satisfies: