Geometrical study of the three-dimensional temperature–composition diagrams. An important aid to understand the behavior of the liquid–vapour equilibrium in ternary systems

•Usefulness of the three-dimensional diagrams for understanding the L–V equilibrium.•Examples of qualitative drawing equilibrium diagrams for several ternary systems.•Overcome the inability of models for the quantitative reproduction of some systems.

In this work the usefulness of qualitatively studying and drawing three-dimensional temperature–composition diagrams for ternary systems is pointed out to understand and interpret the particular behavior of the liquid–vapour equilibrium of non-ideal ternary systems. Several examples have been used in order to highlight the interest and the possibilities of this tool, which should be an interesting support not only for lecturers, but also for researchers interested in experimental equilibrium data determination.