Chapter 6

ENTHALPY OF FUSION
Carl L. Yaws, Deepa R. Balundgi and Saumya Tripathi
Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas
ABSTRACT
Results for enthalpy of fusion are presented for major organic and inorganic chemicals. The results
are displayed in easy-to-use tabulations that are especially applicable for rapid engineering usage with the
personal computer or hand calculator.
INTRODUCTION
Physical and thermodynamic property data such as enthalpy of fusion are of special value to
engineers in the chemical processing and petroleum refining industries. As an example, knowledge of the
enthalpy of fusion is required in the design of heat exchangers for melting solids. In this article, results for
enthalpy of fusion are presented for a wide variety of compounds.
ENTHALPY OF FUSION
The results for enthalpy of fusion are given in Tables 6-1 and 6-2. The tabulations are applicable to a
wide variety of substances including hydrocarbons, oxygenates, halogenates, nitrogenates, sulfur
compounds, silicon compounds and many other chemical types. The compilation is based on screening
appropriate publications for organics (1-35) and inorganics (1-78). The tabulation is arranged by chemical
formula to provide ease of use in quickly locating data.
EXAMPLES
The tabulation of results maybe used for engineering problems involving enthalpy of fusion.
Examples are given below.
Example 1 Determine the enthalpy of fusion of phenol (C6H6O) at the freezing point.
Inspection of the table discloses the following for the enthalpy of fusion at the freezing point:
∆Hfus = 11.514 kjoule/mol

Example 2 Determine energy required to melt 10 mols of naphthalene (C10H8) at the freezing point.
Substitution of data from the table into the following equation yields:
Q = mass * ∆Hfus = 10 mols * 18.979 kjoule/mol
Q = 189.79 kjoule

REFERENCES – ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

1-34. See REFERENCES - ORGANIC COMPOUNDS in Chapter 1 CRITICAL PROPERTIES AND ACENTRIC FACTOR
35. Howard, P. H. and W. M. Meylan, eds., HANDBOOK OF PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ORGANIC CHEMICALS, CRC Press, Boca
Raton, FL (1997).

REFERENCES - INORGANIC COMPOUNDS

1-64. See REFERENCES - INORGANIC COMPOUNDS in Chapter 2 HEAT CAPACITY OF GAS
65. Fink, J. K., TABLES OF THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF SODIUM, Argonne National Lab., ANL-CEN-RSD-82-4, Chemical
Engineering Division, Argonne, IL (June 1982).
66. Touloukian, Y. S. and C. Y. Ho, eds., PROPERTIES OF NONMETALLIC FLUID ELEMENTS, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, NY
(1981).
67. Pace, E. L. and M. A. Reno, J. Chem. Phys., 48(3), 1231 (1968).
68. Della Gatta, G. and D. Ferro, Thermochim. Acta, 122, 143 (1987).
69. Koehler, J. K. and W. F. Giauque, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 80, 2659 (1958).
70. Mascherpa, G., Rev. Chim. Miner., 2, 379 (1965).
71. Stern, S. A., J.L. Mullhaupt and W. B. Kay, Chem. Rev., 60, 185 (1960).
72. Forsythe, W. R. and W. F. Giauque, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 64, 48 (1948).
73. Giguere, P. A. and others, Can. J. Chem., 32, 117 (1954).
74. Douglas, T. B. and others, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 77, 2144 (1955).
75. Chang, D. R. and R. A. Howald, High Temperature Science, 15, 209 (1982).
76. Pace, E. L. and J. S. Mosser, J. Chem. Phys., 19(1), 154 (1963).
77. Donaldson, R. E. and O. R. Quayle, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 72, 35 (1950).
78. Whittaker, A. G. and D. M. Yost, J. Chem. Phys., 17(2), 188 (1949).

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