Two features distinguish vapor nucleation in multicomponent liquids from the single component case. Both result from the unequal volatilities of the species. One is that the vapor phase may contain several components; the other is that nucleus formation alters the composition of the nearby liquid. These two features are incorporated into the classical theory of homogeneous nucleation to yield a general theory applicable to multicomponent liquids. The theory is applied to binary hydrocarbon mixtures by using an equation of state extrapolated into the metastable region. Superheat limits thus calculated are compared with published experimental results.
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