Boiling Temperature and Reversed Deliquescence Relative Humidity Measurements for Mineral Assemblages in the NaCl + NaNO3 + KNO3 + Ca(NO3)2 + H2O System

Abstract

Boiling temperature measurements have been made at ambient pressure for saturated ternary solutions of NaCl + KNO3 + H2O, NaNO3 + KNO3 + H2O, and NaCl + Ca(NO3)2 + H2O over the full composition range, along with those of the single salt systems. Boiling temperatures were also measured for the four component NaCl + NaNO3 + KNO3 + H2O and five component NaCl + NaNO3 + KNO3 + Ca(NO3)2 + H2O mixtures, where the solute mole fraction of Ca(NO3)2, x{Ca(NO3)2}, was varied between 0 and 0.25. The maximum boiling temperature found for the NaCl + KNO3 + H2O system is ≈134.9 ∘C; for the NaNO3 + KNO3 + H2O system is ≈165.1 ∘C at x(NaNO3) ≈ 0.46 and x(KNO3) ≈ 0.54; and for the NaCl + Ca(NO3)2 + H2O system is 164.7 ± 0.6 ∘C at x{NaCl} ≈ 0.25 and x{Ca(NO3)2} ≈ 0.75. The NaCl + NaNO3 + KNO3 + Ca(NO3)2 + H2O system forms molten salts below their maximum boiling temperatures and the temperatures corresponding to the cessation of boiling (dry-out temperatures) of these liquid mixtures were determined. These dry-out temperatures range from ≈300 ∘C when x{Ca(NO3)2} = 0 to ≥ 400 ∘C when x{Ca(NO3)2} = 0.20 and 0.25. Mutual deliquescence/efflorescence relative humidity (MDRH/MERH) measurements were also made for the NaNO3 + KNO3 and NaCl + NaNO3 + KNO3 salt mixture from 120 to 180 ∘C at ambient pressure. The NaNO3 + KNO3 salt mixture has a MDRH of 26.4% at 120 ∘C and 20.0% at 150 ∘C. This salt mixture also absorbs water at 180 ∘C, which is higher than expected from the boiling temperature experiments. The NaCl + NaNO3 + KNO3 salt mixture was found to have a MDRH of 25.9% at 120 ∘C and 10.5% at 180 ∘C. The investigated mixture compositions correspond to some of the major mineral assemblages that are predicted to control brine composition due to the deliquescence of salts formed in dust deposited on waste canisters in the proposed nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.