Crystallization of NaCl−NaNO3−H2O in Porous Media During Drying
Authors
Pel, Leo
Godts, Sebastiaan
Stahlbuhk, Amelie
Shahidzadeh, Noushine
Steiger, Michael
Discipline
Physical sciences
Chemical sciences
Earth and related Environmental sciences
Audience
Scientific
Educational
Date
2025-04-08Publisher
Crystal Growth & Design
Metadata
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In this study, we investigated the crystallization of a salt mixture during drying in a porous medium. Specifically, we focused on the ternary system of NaCl–NaNO3–H2O, which is also encountered in situ. In order to study the crystallization, we use a specialized 4.7 T NMR setup that allows us to directly measure the NaCl and NaNO3 concentrations in a porous medium and track their ratio during drying, providing direct insight into the phase diagram. The measurements indicate that the equilibrium phase diagram alone is not sufficient to describe the physical processes that occur in porous media during drying experiments. In the case of forced drying in this study, where advection of the ions is dominant (Pe > 5), the measurements indicate that we need to take supersaturation into account and that crystallization is driven by transport. As a result, the ratio of a salt mixture will remain constant in the porous medium throughout the experiments, as was seen for this ternary system Na+, Cl–, NO3– resulting in the formation of both NaCl and NaNO3. These results indicate that the rate of evaporation, in combination with the effect of supersaturation and solution transport in the pore system, allows the saturation degree given by the phase diagram to be surpassed. This phenomenon is critical when assessing mixed salt systems in porous media and should be considered when evaluating phase diagrams alone.
Citation
Leo Pel, Sebastiaan Godts, Amelie Stahlbuhk, Noushine Shahidzadeh & Michael Steiger, “Crystallization of NaCl−NaNO3−H2O in Porous Media During Drying”, Crystal Growth & Design, 25-9 (2025): 2843-2848
Identifiers
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng