Overview
ABSTRACT
This article lays the foundations of chemical thermodynamics, the purpose of which is to describe the relationships between the properties of matter. More particularly, the reader will find a description of the formalism of this science (definitions and description of a system, of its state), the fundamental laws of thermodynamics with a particular attention paid to the energy and entropy balances, the mathematical relations enabling to link together the properties of matter and the associated differentials as well as an introduction to the thermodynamic equilibria (of phases, chemicals and osmotic).
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Read the articleAUTHORS
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Romain PRIVAT: Lecturer at the University of Lorraine, Nancy, France - European School of Materials Engineering (EEIGM) - École nationale supérieure des industries chimiques (ENSIC), Reaction and Process Engineering Laboratory (LRGP, UMR 7274)
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Jean-Noël JAUBERT: Lecturer at the University of Lorraine, Nancy, France - École nationale supérieure des industries chimiques (ENSIC), Reaction and Process Engineering Laboratory (LRGP, UMR 7274)
INTRODUCTION
As opposed to energetic thermodynamics, the term "chemical thermodynamics" should be interpreted as that part of the vast field of thermodynamics devoted to the study of the properties of matter and, in particular, its energetic properties and phase equilibria.
In this article, we present the basic concepts, definitions and fundamental relations, in chemical thermodynamics and more particularly :
the vocabulary of the field, with emphasis on the notion of thermodynamic state;
mathematical relations and methods useful for expressing the differentials of thermodynamic quantities, defining partial molar quantities and relating them to total molar quantities, relating the various properties of matter to each other;
the postulates of thermodynamics, from the zero-order principle to the 3rd principle; particular attention is paid to the definition of entropy and its physical interpretation;
the notion of thermodynamic equilibrium, with a presentation of local mechanical and thermal instability criteria.
This article has been designed to provide the reader with all the prerequisites for thermodynamic studies of processes in the chemical and energy production industries.
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KEYWORDS
enthalpy | chemical potential | first law | second law | Gibbs energy | entropy
This article is included in
Unit operations. Chemical reaction engineering
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Chemical thermodynamics
Definitions and basics
Bibliography
As this article deals with fundamental concepts, the authors did not deem it necessary to include references in the body of the article. However, the authors have included a list of books they recommend for more in-depth reading of the concepts presented throughout the article:
general works on chemical thermodynamics [1] to [7];
books describing...
Directory
Laboratories – Design offices – Schools – Research centers (non-exhaustive list)
Center for Process Thermodynamics (Mines Paristech, Fontainebleau, France): https://www.ctp.minesparis.psl.eu/
LRGP thermodynamics and energy team (CNRS, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France):
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