 Low-temperature liquid volume of a van der Waals gas

For one mole, liquid–vapour phase coexistence requires equal pressure and chemical potential. At $\tau =RTb/a\ll 1$, the saturation pressure is exponentially small. Neglecting it in the dense-phase equation of state gives $RT{V}_l^2-a{V}_l+ab=0$. The root near the excluded volume isThis is an asymptotic low-temperature result, not an exact coexistence volume at every subcritical temperature. Away from that limit, solve equal pressure together with the Maxwell equal-area construction.