When a salt is dissolved in a solvent, it always has the effect of raising the boiling point of that solvent – that is it decreases the volatility of the solvent. When the salt is readily soluble in one constituent of a mixture but not in another, the volatility of the constituent in which it is soluble is decreased and the other constituent is unaffected. In this way, for example, it is possible to break the water/ethanol azeotrope by dissolving potassium acetate in it and distilling the result.