Physical Chemistry 1 | Henry’s Law Gutierrez, RAC, Montoya, EC

Henry's law is one of the gas laws and was formulated by the British chemist, William
Henry, in 1803. It states that:
“At a constant temperature, the amount of a given gas dissolved in a given type and volume
of liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas in equilibrium with that liquid”
or
“the partial pressure of gas above a liquid is equal to the concentration of the gas
dissolved in the liquid times the Henry’s Law constant that is specific to the particular liquid,
gas, and temperature.”
𝑝 = 𝑘𝐻 𝐶
Where p – the partial pressure of the solute above the solution
KH – Henry’s constant, which has units such as Latm/mol or Pam3/mol
C – the concentration of the solute in the solution

Some values for kH include:

o oxygen (O2): 769.2 L · atm/mol

o carbon dioxide (CO2): 29.4 L · atm/mol
o hydrogen (H2): 1282.1 L · atm/mol

when these gases are dissolved in water at a temperature of 298 K.

William Henry (in 1803) found experimentally that, for real solutions at low
concentrations, although the vapor pressure of the solute is proportional to its mole fraction, the
constant of proportionality is not the vapor pressure of the pure substance.

Mixtures for which the solute obeys Henry’s law and the solvent obeys Raoult’s law are
called ideal-dilute solutions. The difference in behavior of the solute and solvent at low
concentrations (as expressed by Henry’s and Raoult’s laws, respectively) arises from the fact that
in a dilute solution, the solvent molecules are in an environment very much like the one they have
in the pure liquid. In contrast, the solute molecules are surrounded by solvent molecules, which is
entirely different from their environment when pure. Thus, the solvent behaves like a slightly
modified pure liquid, but the solute behaves entirely differently from its pure state unless the
solvent and solute molecules happen to be very similar. In the latter case, the solute also obeys
Raoult’s law.
Physical Chemistry 1 | Henry’s Law Gutierrez, RAC, Montoya, EC

When a component (the solvent) is nearly pure, it has a vapor pressure that is proportional
to mole fraction with a slope pB* (Raoult’s law). When it is the minor component (the solute) its
vapor pressure is still proportional to the mole fraction, but the constant of proportionality is now
KB (Henry’s law).

Main Difference – Henry’s Law vs Raoult’s Law

Both Henry’s law and Raoult’s law are two laws found in thermodynamics and describe
the relationship between a solution and its vapor that is in equilibrium with each other. Henry’s
law can be used to explain the dissolution of a gas in a liquid solvent such as water. Raoult’s law
indicates the behavior of solvent in a solution that is in equilibrium with its vapor pressure.
However, there are certain limitations when applying these laws for real solutions. The main
difference between Henry’s Law and Raoult’s Law is that Henry’s law describes the behavior of
solutes of a solution whereas Raoult’s law describes the behavior of solvent in a solution.

Sample Problem
In a typical 2 L soda bottle, the partial pressure of CO2 is about 4 atm. If the Henry’s
Law constant (kH) for CO2 in water at 298 K is 29.4  mol
 atm
, what is the concentration of CO2 in
the soda?
Answer:
PCO2  k HcCO2
4 atm  (29.4 mol
 atm
)cCO2
cCO2  0.14 mol

Physical Chemistry 1 | Henry’s Law Gutierrez, RAC, Montoya, EC

REFERENCE
Atkins Peter et al., Physical Chemistry 8th Edition., Oxford University Press, USA.2006
http://pediaa.com/difference-between-henrys-law-and-raoults-law-2/
https://chemengineering.wikispaces.com/Henry%27s+Law