skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The Binary Alkali Nitrate and Chloride Phase Diagrams: NaNO{sub 3}-KNO{sub 3}, LiNO{sub 3}-NaNO{sub 3}, LiNO{sub 3}-KNO{sub 3}, and NaCl-KCl

Journal Article · · Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. B, Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science
; ;  [1]
  1. Swinburne University of Technology, Department of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering (Australia)

LiNO{sub 3}-NaNO{sub 3}, LiNO{sub 3}-KNO{sub 3,} NaNO{sub 3}-KNO{sub 3}, and NaCl-KCl phase relations were formulated using the regular solution model to obtain desired compositions for their potential application as a heat transfer fluid. The simultaneous nonlinear equations formed were solved numerically using a contour plot technique in Matlab. An algorithm was developed to determine the real roots of the coupled nonlinear equations and subsequent phase diagrams were constructed. The phase diagrams were compared with those predicted using FactSage thermochemical package and literature data from experimental studies. The calculated NaNO{sub 3}-KNO{sub 3} phase diagram shows that this system has a eutectic point at 0.5 mole fraction of KNO{sub 3} with a eutectic temperature of 220.85 °C, while the LiNO{sub 3}-KNO{sub 3} system was found to have a eutectic point at 0.44 mole fraction LiNO{sub 3} at 137 °C. The LiNO{sub 3}-NaNO{sub 3} system shows a eutectic at 0.524 mole fraction LiNO{sub 3} at 192.8 °C, and finally the NaCl-KCl system has a eutectic point at 0.48 mole fraction NaCl at 634 °C. The liquidus and solidus curves obtained fitted close against values obtained from the quasi-chemical model used in FactSage and experimental values from the literature. This study showed that the regular solution model combined with the contour plots approach can sufficiently describe the liquidus–solidus curves of the alkali binary nitrate and chloride systems and could be a useful method for predicting the phase diagrams for higher order alkali nitrates and chlorides.

OSTI ID:
22931904
Journal Information:
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. B, Process Metallurgy and Materials Processing Science, Vol. 49, Issue 6; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2018 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International; http://www.springer-ny.com; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1073-5615
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English