Volume 92
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Nabipoor Hassankiadeh, M., Heydari, M. M., Blocka, C., & Zhang, L. (2024). Synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography imaging of solid bridges between potash particles near contact points. Particuology, 92, 24-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2024.04.012
Synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography imaging of solid bridges between potash particles near contact points
Mojtaba Nabipoor Hassankiadeh, Mohammad Mehdi Heydari, Carter Blocka, Lifeng Zhang *
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, SK, S7N 5A9, Saskatoon, Canada
10.1016/j.partic.2024.04.012
Volume 92, September 2024, Pages 24-29
Received 14 February 2024, Revised 8 April 2024, Accepted 23 April 2024, Available online 1 May 2024, Version of Record 9 May 2024.
E-mail: Lifeng.zhang@usask.ca

Highlights

• Synchrotron X-ray imaging technique was used to visualize the surface behavior of potash particles.

• Effect of moisture content on solid bridge length at the end of drying process was investigated.

• External porosity change for different initial moisture contents were measured.

• Solid bridge strength was measured experimentally at different initial moisture contents.


Abstract

Chemical fertilizers, such as potash, have a strong tendency to cake when exposed to humidity. In this work, a novel synchrotron-based X-ray tomography 3D-imaging technique was for the first time employed to investigate the solid bridge formation from 2D and 3D perspectives. Image processing and a theoretical model were presented to demonstrate recrystallization near contact points between potash particles during a conventional drying process. The effect of initial moisture content on the water activity of surface surrounding the contact points was investigated. The results showed that by increasing the moisture content of particles (3%–5%), the dissolution of sylvite increased and the solid bridge length between potash particles was enlarged from 28 μm to 44 μm due to supersaturation conditions. In addition, the external porosity of potash particles at the end of drying process decreased from 25.3% to 19.5% for 3% and 5% moisture content, respectively.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Potash fertilizer; Solid bridge; Recrystallization; Synchrotron X-ray micro-CT imaging; Drying process