1 results about "Freezing-point depression" patented technology

Freezing-point depression is the decrease of the freezing point of a solvent on the addition of a non-volatile solute. Examples include salt in water, alcohol in water, or the mixing of two solids such as impurities into a finely powdered drug. In all cases, the substance added/present in smaller amounts is considered the solute, while the original substance present in larger quantity is thought of as the solvent. The resulting liquid solution or solid-solid mixture has a lower freezing point than the pure solvent or solid because the chemical potential of the solvent in the mixture is lower than that of the pure solvent, the difference between the two being proportional to the natural logarithm of the mole fraction. In a similar manner, the chemical potential of the vapor above the solution is lower than that above a pure solvent, which results in boiling-point elevation. Freezing-point depression is what causes sea water, (a mixture of salt [and other things] in water) to remain liquid at temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F), the freezing point of pure water.