Salt Grains Research Articles

Performance enhancement, life cycle assessment, and feature analysis of wheat starch-based NaCl-binder as a sustainable alternative to OPC mortar

The primary aim of this investigation is to advance the properties of an innovative and sustainable wheat starch-based NaCl-binder (WSB) material. The scope encompasses the material's ecological and structural applications and potential for paving usage. The creation of hydrophobic and environmentally friendly WSB samples under microwave curing conditions was achieved by using a salt mortar with varying sizes of salt grains, water, and wheat starch as a binding agent. This study investigated the effects of curing time, water and starch amounts, and salt particle size on strength, modulus of rupture, and modulus of elasticity. Additionally, XRD, XRF, and SEM analyses were carried out to assess the chemical characteristics of WSB and the bonding between its particles. The mix design with the highest compressive strength, which consisted of 1 wt% starch, 8 min of microwave treatment, and 10 wt% water, attained a strength of 25.27 MPa. Furthermore, coconut oil was employed to effectively make the samples water-resistant. Following different guidelines, WSB could be categorized as structural concrete and utilized for structural and paving bricks. A vital aspect of this study is the exceptional environmental performance of WSB as a structural material, highlighting its originality and importance.

Developing a durable anti-frost surface: Integrating the passive anti-icing properties of salt, saline, and bulk ice for enhanced frost prevention

Icing on surfaces presents significant challenges for the aviation industry and life in cold alpine regions. Developing smart surfaces to mitigate icing effects is highly desirable. When icing cannot be completely avoided in the atmosphere, limiting it to a small area on the surface is a practical solution. We have created a hydrophilic pattern on superhydrophobic surfaces using laser fabrication, which allows saline droplets to adhere to the pattern. As these droplets dry, salt grains cover the pattern, making the surface primarily superhydrophobic. Under frost conditions, the salt grains turn into saline beads, which then freeze into ice beads. Frost forms only on the tops of these ice beads within the pattern. Due to the lower saturated vapor pressure of salt, saline, and ice compared to the supersaturated vapor pressure for condensation, there is not enough humidity around the pattern for water vapor to condense and form frost. As a result, water vapor continuously deposits inside the pattern, significantly reducing frost formation around it. This combination of salt, saline, and ice, with their lower saturation vapor pressures below zero Celsius, ensures a dry perimeter during rapid temperature drops and increased humidity. By designing the pattern size appropriately, the dry perimeters overlap, keeping the entire surface outside the pattern free of frost. This approach offers a promising solution for reducing frosting on surfaces.

“Microplastic seasoning”: A study on microplastic contamination of sea salts in Bangladesh

This study investigated microplastics (MPs) in commercial sea salts from Bangladesh. The presence of MPs in the 18 sea salt bands was 100 %, where the mean MPs abundance was 471.67 MPs/kg, ranging between 300 and 670 MPs/kg. The maximum number of MPs in the 300–1500 μm size class was significantly higher than the 1500–3000 μm and 3000–5000 μm size class. The most dominant color was black. Fibers and foams were the dominant shapes. The highest number of MPs was 41 %, obtained from coarse salt grains. Four types of polymers were mainly identified from the analyzed samples: PP, PE, PET, and PA. The mean polymer risk index value among these sea salts was 539 to 1257. The findings of this study can be helpful for consumers, salt industries, and policymakers to be aware of or reduce MP contamination levels in sea salts during production and consumption.

Nutrition Knowledge Is Related to Food Security, Literacy, and Nutrition Education in Cambodian Refugee and Asylee Women in Lowell, Massachusetts

ABSTRACT Refugees experience elevated risk of chronic disease post-resettlement. Understanding contributors to refugee knowledge of the connection between food and health may help promote healthful resettlement. A random survey was conducted with Cambodian refugee and asylee women in Lowell, MA (n = 160). Knowledge of the connection between health and food categories (meat with fat, soda, fast food, high-sodium sauces, salt, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains) was assessed. High food security, literacy, and having participated in nutrition education were related to higher knowledge. Approaches to refugee health should include improving food security and should be tailored to varied literacy levels.

Experimental Investigation of Fluid Flow through Zinc Open-Cell Foams Produced by the Excess Salt Replication Process and Suitable as a Catalyst in Wastewater Treatment

The “excess salt replication process” is a new simple method of fabrication of open-cell metal foam based on the commonly known salt replication method. Porous materials with porosity between 46% and 66% result when the employed alloy is 25% antimonial lead alloy and when it is 58% to 65% zamak 5. These foams are proposed as structured catalysts instead of packed beds in the treatment of wastewater. The local regimes influencing macroscopic air flow behaviour through these foams are delimited and boundaries are analysed in terms of sample length. Most of the experimental tests in this work exhibited a general trend of air flow in ESR foams dominated by the “strong inertia regime”. It was established that the law governing the unidirectional air flow through these foams was the full cubic law. The permeability and inertia coefficient of five samples with a cell diameter between 2.5 and 4.5 mm were calculated, and an empirical correlation was fitted. The irregular cuboid shape of salt grains used in the ESR foam was the origin of the special cell form of ESR foams leading to an anisotropic ordered porous media. This can explain the macroscopic turbulence of air flow because there were many dead zones present in the corner of each cubic cell, thus causing kinetic energy loss starting at earlier regimes.

Additive Manufactured Piezoelectric-Driven Miniature Gripper

In several cases, it is desirable to have prototypes of low-cost fabrication and adequate performance. In academic laboratories and industries, miniature and microgrippers can be very useful for observations and the analysis of small objects. Piezoelectrically actuated microgrippers, commonly fabricated with aluminum, and with micrometer stroke or displacement, have been considered as Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). Recently, additive manufacture using several polymers has also been used for the fabrication of miniature grippers. This work focuses on the design of a piezoelectric-driven miniature gripper, additive manufactured with polylactic acid (PLA), which was modeled using a pseudo rigid body model (PRBM). It was also numerically and experimentally characterized with an acceptable level of approximation. The piezoelectric stack is composed of widely available buzzers. The aperture between the jaws allows it to hold objects with diameters lower than 500 μm, and weights lower than 1.4 g, such as the strands of some plants, salt grains, metal wires, etc. The novelty of this work is given by the miniature gripper’s simple design, as well as the low-cost of the materials and the fabrication process used. In addition, the initial aperture of the jaws can be adjusted, by adhering the metal tips in the required position.

Laboratory Studies of Brine Growth Kinetics Relevant to Deliquescence on Mars

Although previous studies have shown that the near-surface environmental conditions on Mars may permit salt deliquescence and therefore brine production, there is significant uncertainty in the kinetics of the process. Indeed, experimental studies have shown that deliquescence is either very rapid or too slow to be relevant to Mars. To resolve this uncertainty, we performed laboratory experiments to investigate the growth rate of Mars-relevant calcium perchlorate brines over a range of temperatures (184–273 K) and water vapor pressures (0.2–220 Pa). We show that the brine growth is faster at higher water vapor pressures and lower temperatures and for smaller particles. From our data, we determined a temperature-dependent net uptake coefficient for gas phase water molecules colliding with a perchlorate brine surface in the range of 3.8 × 10−4 at 185 K to 4.2 × 10−6 at 273 K. These values suggest that deliquescence on Mars is likely to be slow even when conditions thermodynamically permit a brine to form. We find that along the Curiosity rover traverse at Gale Crater, the near-surface conditions would only allow particles <1 μm to fully deliquesce over a typical sol. At the higher-latitude Phoenix landing site, deliquescence may be 30% faster due to the higher water vapor pressures, but still, only micron-scale salt grains or coatings would be expected to deliquesce during a typical sol. These results suggest that brines formed via deliquescence on the surface of Mars are likely only present on small scales that may not be readily detected using conductivity or imaging techniques.

Micro-seepage directed evaporation and salt nucleation of a brine droplet on oil-impregnated steel surfaces

The lubricant/oil-impregnated surface was intensively investigated due to its versatile functionality in service environments. However, its environmentally sensitive failure caused by water droplets is still unclear. In this paper, we speculated that the evaporation/crystallization of a droplet depends on the microscopic interactions at the droplet/oil/substrate interface, which determines the failure of an oil-impregnated surface on reactive substrates. Experiments were conducted by placing a brine droplet on the oil-impregnated steel surface (OISS) and the oil-coated steel surface (OCSS) directly prepared on carbon steel. The evaporation and crystallization processes were systematically investigated by microscopic and spectroscopic methods. A dynamic polar coordinate was developed to qualitatively determine the location of the salt nucleus during evaporation. Our findings address the crucial role of the micro-scale interfacial actions affecting the macro-droplet behavior. The asymmetric edge pegging leads to a displacement of the center mass of a droplet, which alters the evaporation modes and rates. The micro-seepage of water causes the local rupture of oil layers and the droplet nailing, resulting in corrosion of the substrate structures, which constrains the nucleation of salt grains on OISS. The similar mechanism was verified by the droplet behavior on OCSS. Our findings are of great significance for deciphering the droplet behavior on engineering materials surfaces.

Investment casting of periodic aluminum cellular structures using slurry-cast table salt moulds

A process is presented for the production of periodic cellular structures based on investment casting of Al-12 wt%Si alloy within a mould that is made of table salt (NaCl) packed around a sacrificial PLA polymer template. Moulding begins by pouring salt grains suspended within brine and packed by vibration around the pattern. This is followed by draining, drying, and pyrolysis of the polymer followed by pressure infiltration of the resulting mould with molten metal. Cast Al-12 %Si structures made of octahedra linked at their vertexes (6 in all three directions) with a relative density of 31% are produced and characterized for their microstructure and compressive deformation. The highly porous structures replicate accurately the polymer pattern in dense metal, have a compressive modulus of 1.2 GPa, a plateau stress of 20 MPa, a densification strain of 77%, and an energy absorption of 15 J/cm3 corresponding to an efficiency of 80% compared to an ideally plastic material.

Microscale Mechanical‐Chemical Modeling of Granular Salt: Insights for Creep

AbstractMicroscale numerical modeling is potentially an effective approach for understanding salt creep, but it is quite challenging because natural salt grain boundaries can have complex and evolving geometry, and because contacts between these deformable salt mineral grains are dynamic as a result of compaction, chemical reaction, fluid flow, and heat transfer. In this study, we have overcome these challenges and developed a new microscale mechanical‐chemical (MC) model to analyze creep of salt at the microscale, accounting for coupled deformation, dynamic contacts, and chemical reaction in granular systems with realistic geometric representations. The MC model was realized by linking a new microscale mechanical code based on the numerical manifold method (NMM) to a reactive transport code named Crunch. We simulated the processes of reorganization of the salt grains, microfracturing, and pressure solution that contribute to creep at larger scales. Based on this first quantitative microscale model, we found that sharp corners of mineral grains can dominate the contact dynamics, microfracturing, and pressure solution when salt is compacted, thus governing the structural changes and porosity loss of the system. We found that pressure solution, which preferentially dissolves sharp corners and edges, can lead to relatively high porosity loss in the system, thus playing an important role in the creep of salt. Our analysis shows that the dynamic changes of salt granular systems involving grain relocation and pressure solution can occur repeatedly and continuously, thus contributing to longer‐term creep of salt at larger scales.

Evolution of texture and internal stresses within polycrystalline rock salt using in situ 3D synchrotron computed tomography and 3D X-ray diffraction

Rock salt caverns have been extensively used as reliable repositories for hazardous waste such as nuclear waste, oil or compressed gases. Undisturbed rock salt deposits in nature are usually impermeable and have very low porosity. However, rock salt formations under excavation stresses can develop crack networks, which increase their porosities; and in the case of a connected crack network within the media, rock salt may become permeable. Although the relationship between the permeability of rock salt and the applied stresses has been reported in the literature, a microscopic study that investigates the properties influencing this relationship, such as the evolution of texture and internal stresses, has yet to be conducted. This study employs in situ 3D synchrotron micro-computed tomography and 3D X-ray diffraction (3DXRD) on two small-scale polycrystalline rock salt specimens to investigate the evolution of the texture and internal stresses within the specimens. The 3DXRD technique measures the 3D crystal structure and lattice strains within rock salt grains. The specimens were prepared under 1D compression conditions and have shown an initial {111} preferred texture, a dominant {110}〈110〉 slip system and no fully connected crack network. The {111} preferred texture under the unconfined compression experiment became stronger, while the {111}〈110〉 slip system became more prominent. The specimens did not have a fully connected crack network until applied axial stresses reached about 30 MPa, at a point where the impermeability of the material becomes compromised due to the development of multiple major cracks.

Salt grains in hypervelocity impacts in the laboratory: Methods to sample plumes from the ice worlds Enceladus and Europa

AbstractThe plumes naturally erupting from the icy satellite Enceladus were sampled by the Cassini spacecraft in high‐speed fly‐bys, which gave evidence of salt. This raises the question of how salt behaves under high‐speed impact, and how it can best be sampled in future missions to such plumes. We present the results of 35 impacts onto aluminum targets by a variety of salts (NaCl, NaHCO3, MgSO4, and MgSO4·7H2O) at speeds from 0.26 to 7.3 km s−1. Using SEM‐EDX, identifiable projectile residue was found in craters at all speeds. It was possible to distinguish NaCl and NaHCO3 from each other, and from the magnesium sulfates, but not to separate the hydrous from anhydrous magnesium sulfates. Raman spectroscopy on the magnesium sulfates and NaHCO3 residues failed to find a signal at low impact speeds (&lt;0.5 km s−1) where there was insufficient projectile material deposited at the impact sites. At intermediate speeds (0.5 to 2–3 km s−1), identifiable Raman spectra were found in the impact craters, but not at higher impact speeds, indicating a loss of structure during the high speed impacts. Thus, intact capture of identifiable salt residues on solid metal surfaces requires impact speeds between 0.75 and 2 km s−1.

Analysis of the process of compaction movements of deposits of crushed salt tailings

In the context of chemical industry production, mining waste from saline materials, mostly consisting of granular rock salt, is stored in tailing piles. During this process, several deformational mechanisms are involved. The crushed salt displays a significant visco-plastic response. Several processes such as “dislocation related deformation mechanisms” or “mechanisms related to presence of humidity”, are activated. The granular saline material consolidates and void ratio reduces. Dissolution and recrystallization phenomena is developed because of confining stresses and the presence of water. Consequently, it produces bonding between salt grains increasing the strength of the material and reductions of porosity. This paper describes the compaction process of waste salt materials due to the tailing pile self-weight. Since then, it undergoes a long-term response which may lead to a material with completely different properties.An experimental program was carried out on salt samples obtained from a tailing pile with the aim of studying the mechanical behavior of the material. This experimental research was divided in three stages.First, the geotechnical profile was determined from a comprehensive laboratory characterization. In this research, the behavior of the salt aggregates was studied by means of oedometer compaction creep tests on granular salt samples. The material used was obtained from two different depths. Samples were saturated during two months using a salt solution under isothermal conditions (23 °C). Vertical stresses applied varied from 0.05 to 1.5 MPa. Permeability measurements were obtained from oedometer tests (initial and final measurements). A relationship between permeability and void ratio was established.In a second stage, a constitutive model proposed by Chumbe, 1996 for aggregate saline material has been calibrated by experimental oedometer results. The model predicts strain rate of the salt aggregates subjected to compaction under constant stress, once calibrated. Moreover, the evolution of permeability can also be estimated by the model.Finally, a model, with a relatively simple geometry, is intended to assess porosity reduction in a crushed salt deposit. In this way, the experimental results can benefit of using the viscoelasticity and viscoplasticity constitutive laws for saline materials implemented in CODE_BRIGHT.

Experimental Comparison of Innovative Composite Sorbents for Space Heating and Domestic Hot Water Storage

In this study, the development and comparative characterization of different composite sorbents for thermal energy storage applications is reported. Two different applications were targeted, namely, low-temperature space heating (SH) and domestic hot water (DHW) provision. From a literature analysis, the most promising hygroscopic salts were selected for these conditions, being LiCl for SH and LiBr for DHW. Furthermore, two mesoporous silica gel matrixes and a macroporous vermiculite were acquired to prepare the composites. A complete characterization was performed by investigating the porous structure of the composites before and after impregnation, through N2 physisorption, as well as checking the phase composition of the composites at different temperatures through X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis. Furthermore, sorption equilibrium curves were measured in water vapor atmosphere to evaluate the adsorption capacity of the samples and a detailed calorimetric analysis was carried out to evaluate the reaction evolution under real operating conditions as well as the sorption heat of each sample. The results demonstrated a slower reaction kinetic in the vermiculite-based composites, due to the larger size of salt grains embedded in the pores, while promising volumetric storage densities of 0.7 GJ/m3 and 0.4 GJ/m3 in silica gel-based composites were achieved for SH and DHW applications, respectively.

Encapsulation of Salt Hydrates by Polymer Coatings for Low-Temperature Heat Storage Applications

Efficient and cheap storage of energy from renewable resources presents a key technology to facilitate the ongoing energy transition. Storing heat in thermochemical materials (TCMs), such as salt hydrates, provides a promising concept to meet this demand. TCMs can capture heat reversibly and loss-free by relying on equilibrium hydration reactions of the salts. Persistent bottlenecks in the full-scale application of this technology are the low mechanical resilience of salt grains and their tendency to coagulate or dissolve when in contact with water vapor. To overcome this, the salt grains can be encapsulated by a stabilizing polymer coating. Ideal coatings combine high water vapor permeability with reversible deformability to minimize the resistance for water transport and to accommodate the volumetric changes of the TCM during repetitive (de)hydration, respectively. Here, a systematic study into the applicability of commercially available polymers as coating materials is presented. Mechanical analysis and wet-cup experiments on freestanding polymer films revealed that cellulose-based coatings successfully combine permeability and ductility and meet the engineering demands for domestic TCM-based heat storage applications. The validity of using freestanding films as model system was confirmed by encapsulating granular TCMs in ethyl and hydroxyl propyl cellulose using fluidized bed coating. The permeability was retained and an enhanced structural integrity of the TCM grains during (de)hydration cycles was observed.

Livestock production pattern of agropastoralists in peri-urban centres of south-west Nigeria

The remarkable reduction of tsetse fly and its vector disease trypanosomosis in the South West zone of Nigeria has led to the development of agropastoralism in the zone. This study was carried out by administration of structured questionnaires to farmers in three towns (Oyo, Ogbomosho and Saki) in order to highlight some of the factors influencing production in the area. It was found that in all the three towns animals were maintained on free range grazing, browsing and offer of crop residues. The most favoured breed kept is the Bunaji and Ogbomoso had the highest concentration (52.16%) of this breed. Labour allocation among agropastoralists was based on sex. Diarrhoea was the prevalent disease among the adult animals in wet and dry seasons while sand eating was common among the calves. In all the centres, cattle constituted the major ruminant in stock(77%) while sheep and goats accounted for 15% and 8% respectively. A preponderance of female cattle over the male for all the breeds was recorded in all the towns, But Saki had the highest number of cattle in stock and Ovo the lowest. Feed supplements offered all year round were salt lick and grains. Most of the agropaturalists depended on the use of local herbs and such other orthodox methods of combating diseases affecting the herd.

Contactless acoustic micro/nano manipulation: a paradigm for next generation applications in life sciences.

Acoustic actuation techniques offer a promising tool for contactless manipulation of both synthetic and biological micro/nano agents that encompass different length scales. The traditional usage of sound waves has steadily progressed from mid-air manipulation of salt grains to sophisticated techniques that employ nanoparticle flow in microfluidic networks. State-of-the-art in microfabrication and instrumentation have further expanded the outreach of these actuation techniques to autonomous propulsion of micro-agents. In this review article, we provide a universal perspective of the known acoustic micromanipulation technologies in terms of their applications and governing physics. Hereby, we survey these technologies and classify them with regards to passive and active manipulation of agents. These manipulation methods account for both intelligent devices adept at dexterous non-contact handling of micro-agents, and acoustically induced mechanisms for self-propulsion of micro-robots. Moreover, owing to the clinical compliance of ultrasound, we provide future considerations of acoustic manipulation techniques to be fruitfully employed in biological applications that range from label-free drug testing to minimally invasive clinical interventions.

Luminescence properties of natural dead sea salt pellet dosimetry upon thermal stimulation

In the event of a radiological accident or attack, immediate need arises for reliable estimation of dose to the population from an affected environment. This would contribute to proper medical treatment and any need for isolation of affected areas. As such, it is important to improve dosimetry assessment through use of locally available materials, the latter acting as accident/prospective dosimeters. Present investigation has examined the TL properties of natural salt collected in Jordan, from the Dead Sea, and exposed using 60Co gamma radiation. Entrance doses ranging from 2 to 10 Gy have been delivered, providing desirable luminescence features. Natural Dead Sea NaCl are produced in cylindrical pellet form, achieved with 0.1 and 0.3 cm thickness sized from the salt grains obtained by a compression force of 5.0 ± 0.1 tonnes. With these NaCl pellets, linear dose response has been achieved, producing strong TL yield for a 0.1 cm thick layer, exceeding that of 0.3 cm thickness by a factor of 3. The shape of the glow curves was found to be independent of delivered dose, the main TL dosimetric peak remaining within the range 180 °C to 280 °C and 300 °C to 400 °C for the 0.1- and 0.3 cm NaCl pellets respectively. Computerised glow curve deconvolution was carried out, comprising of ten peaks, with associated activation energies and frequency factors. TL response per unit mass of NaCl pellets for both thicknesses were found to be energy dependent, predominating in yield at 60 keV. Over a period of 35 days the 0.3 cm NaCl pellet showed the least effect of fading, with loss of TL signals of 56% compared to an 81% loss for the 0.1 cm pellet. It is also noted that the combination of low activation energy and high frequency factors for the electrons to escape a trap for the 0.1 cm NaCl pellet samples subjected to 2 Gy gamma irradiation resulted in a highly substantial loss of TL signal over the first 7 days in comparison to the 0.3 cm NaCl pellet. Both samples thicknesses were unable to produce reproducible TL responses for the second and greater use. It has also been found that in addition to particle size, moisture and pre-irradiation annealing influence the TL properties. The excellent TL properties achieved by 0.1 cm NaCl pellets indicate their potential use as an accident/prospective dosimeter.

Finite volume modeling of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical processes with application to brine migration in salt

The disposal of heat-generating nuclear waste in salt host rock generates a thermal gradient around the waste package that may cause brine inclusions in the salt grains to migrate toward the waste package. In this study, a dual-continuum model is developed to analyze such a phenomenon. In this model, fluid flow in terms of advective and diffusive fluxes in the interconnected pore space and diffusive and thermal-diffusive fluxes in the salt grains is considered. Due to the very distinct behavior of fluid flow in the interconnected pore space versus in the salt grains, this process is simulated based on a dual-continuum model. In the dual-continuum model, the mass balance of salt and water in the two continua is separately considered, and the coupling between the two continua is represented by flux associated with brine migration in one medium and out of another. The energy balance is simulated assuming thermal equilibrium among different components and phases in the whole system. For mechanical analysis, a new formulation (extended finite volume method, XFVM) is proposed and is applied with a Voronoi tessellated mesh. The coupling between the hydraulic and mechanical fields in terms of pore-volume effects is consistent with Biot’s theory, while thermal and mechanical fields are linked in terms of thermal expansion. The resulting fully coupled THM model is capable of modeling strongly nonlinear features, involving salt concentration effects on fluid mass associated with advection, and thermal effects on brine migration. A Newton-Raphson iteration formula is used to generate the linearized equations for this nonlinear problem. The model was verified step by step for each component of the coupling terms, including thermal-hydraulic (TH) and hydro-mechanical (HM) couplings, and was applied to analyze diffusion in single continuum and dual continua, small-scale brine migration, and large-scale brine migration induced by thermal gradient. The results show that the model is able to quantify brine under different conditions and thermal gradients, making it a valuable tool for performance assessment for nuclear waste disposal in salt.

Dynamic Evolution of Permeability in Response to Chemo‐Mechanical Compaction

AbstractPressure‐solution creep is an important fluid‐mediated deformation mechanism, causing chemo‐mechanical transformations and porosity and permeability changes in rocks. The presence of phyllosilicates, in particular, has previously been hypothesized to further reduce porosity and pore connectivity. Nevertheless, a full characterization of the spatiotemporal evolution of permeability during this process has yet to be reported. A pure NaCl aggregate and a mixture of NaCl and biotite were deformed through pressure‐solution creep while monitoring their microstructural evolution through computed X‐ray microtomography. The evolution of permeability and fluid velocity of the samples were computed by using the pore geometries from the X‐ray microtomography as input for the Lattice‐Boltzmann modeling. The results indicate that, as deformation proceeds, porosity and permeability decrease in both samples. In the salt‐biotite sample pressure solution creep causes the formation of a compaction band perpendicular to the direction of loading, forming a barrier for permeability. Along the other two directions, pore connectivity and permeability are retained in the marginal salt layers, making the sample strongly anisotropic. The presence of biotite controls the way pore coordination number evolves and hence the connectivity of the pathways. Biotite flakes create an enhanced porosity decrease leading to compaction and reduction of pore connectivity. This reduction in porosity affects local stresses and local contact areas, reducing over time the driving force. According to a texture‐porosity process, the reduction in porosity causes salt ions to dissolve in the marginal salt and precipitate within the biotite‐bearing layer, where the bulk volume of salt grains increases over time.