What is an Azeotrope?

Get a better understanding of what an azeotrope is and does with this simplified explanation from the application specialists at MicroCare. More info at: https://www.microcare.com/ where you'll find azeotropic cleaners that are more effective at cleaning manufactured parts while saving money.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Azeotropes are unique
and difficult to find or make
so they are both rare and special.
Azeotropes used in critical cleaning
have many benefits including lowering your cleaning costs,
boosting your cleaning effectiveness
and enhancing worker safety.
In simplest terms,
an azeotrope is defined as a mixture
of at least two different liquids or molecules
whose proportion cannot be changed
by simple distillation.
So first question, what makes an azeotrope?
For demonstration purposes,
let's suppose we test an unscientific mixture
that is 95% water and 5% ethanol.
If we boil the mixture
and measure the fumes coming off,
we would notice that the mixture of the ingredients
is still at the same 95-to-5 ratio.
When we further chill those vapors
and distill the material,
it again will have the same 95-to-5 mixture ratio.
In fact, no matter what we do,
the mixture always stays at the 95-to-5 proportions.
This means we have created a theoretical azeotrope.
So our second question is why make an azeotrope?
It's because azeotropes save
on cleaning fluid and operating costs.
The boiling point of water is about 100 degrees Celsius.
But when we add that precise amount of 5% ethanol,
the boiling temperature suddenly drops.
This is very odd and unexpected.
The two chemicals are still separate
and distinct in the mixture
with no change in their chemical state.
But somehow the two chemicals work together
to lower the combined boiling point.
Most importantly, as an azeotropic mix,
the two constituents boil off at the same rate.
Why is this significant?
Azeotropes are very easy to distill and recover.
If the fluid in a vapor degreaser acts as an azeotrope,
then the fluid can be boiled away and distilled
as a single fluid or monosolvent
while the contamination, fluxes, oils, greases stay trapped
in the liquid at the bottom of the machine.
In effect, trapping and concentrating the contamination
by distillation instead of using filters
and membranes and such
and this easy-to-recover azeotropic cleaning fluid
recycles hundreds of times before it needs replacement.
So we have created an azeotrope
that cleans more efficiently,
while lowering the amount and cost of solvent use
by recycling and remember
that lower boiling point?
It requires less energy to boil,
another cost saving factor.
So our third question,
why are azeotropes so cool?
It's simple.
They're easier to use and add safety
plus azeotropes allow you to tailor the cleaning fluid
to the contamination you want to remove.
Azeotropic behavior allows clever engineers
to deliver the improved cleaning performance
of a tailored mixture
with the convenient handling
and storage of a single compound.
Perhaps one chemical is nonflammable
but not the best cleaner.
But create the right mix with a super cleaner
that happens to be flammable,
we now have a great nonflammable cleaner.
This is a big boost for safety.
Many of the MicroCare cleaning fluids are azeotropes.
And azeotropic cleaners can be specifically engineered
to lower your costs, boost cleaning effectiveness,
and enhance worker safety.
While azeotropes are difficult to make,
the advanced possibilities are almost limitless.
Only MicroCare has the broad range
of ingredients and expertise
to engineer money-saving safer azeotropes
for your applications.
Look for the term azeotrope in our product descriptions
and SDS sheets.
And Discover Perfectly Clean.
(lively music)