Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: stangle12 on February 08, 2006, 03:11:25 PM
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i need to know the average boiling temperature of butter.
its average melting point is 35 degres C.
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are you sure? i had a conflicting answer that said close to 230 degrees C.
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Butter is an emulsion of fat in water - thus boliling starts at about 100 deg C. As it is not pure water, but solution of proteins, salts and hydrocarbons its boiling point will be higher (thus 110-120 looks more or less probable). However, once the water is removed second boiling point is possible - when the fat itself starts to boil. But organic fats have tendency to decompose before boiling.
In case of butter there is an additional problem - once the water evaporates proteins left will decompose long before the fat. It is possible to "clarify" the butter heating it slowly and removing scum.
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where did you find it at?
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so if i threw a stick of butter in a frying pan, and heated it until it bubbled in the pan...that would be apoximatly 115 degrees?
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are you sure? i had a conflicting answer that said close to 230 degrees C.
That's probably fat alone, not the water that starts to boil first.
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If butter is in fact an emulsion of fat and water (and i am too lazy to confirm that), it should be boiling (or starting to anyway) at below 100 rather than above. Yes proteins and the like dissolved in water may elevate the boiling point but the fact that you've got a two immiscible liquids creating an immiscible vapors will have higher effect. Ochem 101, immiscible vapors have additive vapor pressures (not proportional to their mol fraction) since they are additive, having even a drop of one of the liquids will make it easier for the mixture of vapors to reach 1 atm and thus boil. In short, steam distillation.