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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Thermodynamics and Physical Properties

Boiling point

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

/ˈbɔɪlɪŋ ˌpɔɪnt/nounCore term

In chemical engineering, boiling point means: The temperature at which a liquid's vapor pressure equals the surrounding pressure, so that it boils. It goes down under vacuum and up at higher pressure.

In Turkish: kaynama noktası

How it is used

Used when choosing separation methods, solvents and operating pressures. Engineers compare the boiling points of components and talk about 'close-boiling' mixtures that are hard to separate. The normal boiling point is measured at 1 atm.

Example sentences

  1. We run the column under vacuum to lower the boiling point and protect the product.

  2. The two isomers have boiling points only 3 °C apart.

Common collocations

  • normal boiling point
  • boiling point elevation
  • close-boiling
  • lower the boiling point
  • vapor pressureThe pressure of the vapor above a liquid when the two are in balance at a given temperature. It rises with temperature, and the liquid boils when it equals the surrounding pressure.
  • distillationA way of separating a liquid mixture by boiling it and condensing the vapor, using the fact that the components boil at different temperatures.
  • dew pointThe temperature at which a gas or vapor mixture, when cooled at constant pressure, starts to form the first drops of liquid.
  • latent heatThe heat taken in or given out when a substance changes phase, for example from liquid to vapor, without any change in temperature.

More terms: Thermodynamics and Physical Properties

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