Two parameters are
introduced, a nonideality index (NII) and a
nonideality area (NIA), for the analysis of the variations of thermodynamic
properties of binary mixtures. Their calculation is based, for the
NII, on experimental plots of the variation of a given property (density,
refractive index, viscosity, etc.), and for the NIA, on experimental
plots of its excess value (excess enthalpies, molar volumes, viscosities,
refractive indices, isentropic compressibilities, etc.) with the mixture
composition. Both nonideality parameters are therefore not based on
any theoretical model or on its derived parameters, being applicable
with any fitting equation. The NII or NIA values for a thermodynamic
property of a series of related binary mixtures reveal interesting
trends, which are not evident in most analyses of such systems. Besides
their predictive value, these trends provide information on the relevance
of solvent characteristics of the binary mixture, thus supporting
new insights or interpretations of the experimental data.