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Performance of limestones laden with mixed salt solutions of Na2SO4–NaNO3 and Na2SO4–K2SO4

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Abstract

The behaviour of two types of limestones having a different porosity, Maastricht and Euville limestone, laden with aqueous solutions of equimolar mixtures of sodium sulphate/sodium nitrate or sodium sulphate/potassium sulphate was investigated. At 50 % RH, the efflorescences on Maastricht samples during the first 30 h of drying consisted of similar amounts of thenardite and darapskite in case of an equimolar mixture of sodium sulphate/sodium nitrate while those on Euville samples under the same conditions contained mainly darapskite. After drying at 20 °C and 85 % RH, thenardite, formed through the precipitation and dehydration of mirabilite, was mostly detected in the efflorescences on both Maastricht and Euville samples. Re-wetting by increasing the RH from 50 to 85 % resulted in substantial damage on Maastricht stone laden with an equimolar mixture of sodium sulphate/sodium nitrate as a consequence of high supersaturation of mirabilite. In case of a contamination with equimolar amounts of sodium sulphate and potassium sulphate, the efflorescence on both limestones during drying at 50 % RH contained predominantly aphthitalite. The observed crystallisation behaviour is compared to the theoretical behaviour. The results indicate a strong influence of stone properties on the crystallisation behaviour of salt mixtures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA), Jubelpark 1, 1000, Brussels, Belgium

    Hilde De Clercq & Maja Jovanović

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Inorganic and Applied Chemistry, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Kirsten Linnow & Michael Steiger

Authors
  1. Hilde De Clercq
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  2. Maja Jovanović
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  3. Kirsten Linnow
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  4. Michael Steiger
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Correspondence to Hilde De Clercq.

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De Clercq, H., Jovanović, M., Linnow, K. et al. Performance of limestones laden with mixed salt solutions of Na2SO4–NaNO3 and Na2SO4–K2SO4 . Environ Earth Sci 69, 1751–1761 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-2017-0

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