Solid–Liquid Phase Equilibria of the Quaternary System NaCl–CaCl2–H3BO3–H2O at 323.15 K: Solubility Determination and Thermodynamic Model

Abstract

The solid–liquid phase equilibria of brine systems containing boric acid are the theoretical basis for the development of boric acid from brine resources. The phase equilibria of the systems NaCl–CaCl2–H3BO3–H2O and CaCl2–H3BO3–H2O at 323.15 K were investigated by the isothermal solution method. The phase diagram for the ternary system is composed of one co-saturation point, two univariant solubility curves, and two singe-salt crystallization fields of CaCl2·2H2O and H3BO3. The dry-salt phase diagram for the quaternary system consists of one invariant point, three univariant solubility curves, and three single-salt crystallization fields for NaCl, CaCl2·2H2O, and H3BO3. In the phase diagrams of the quaternary system at 298.15 and 323.15 K, the areas of sodium chloride and calcium chloride salt regions are enlarged, whereas the area of the H3BO3 region is diminished significantly with the increase of temperature. Using the Pitzer model, the lacking Pitzer parameters for H3BO3 were obtained by fitting the solubilities in the CaCl2–H3BO3–H2O system. The calculated solubilities with the Pitzer model were in accord with the experimental data.