Interplay between salt precipitation, corner liquid film flow, and gas–liquid displacement during evaporation in microfluidic pore networks

Abstract

Visualization experiments with microfluidic pore networks are performed in this work to disclose interplay between salt precipitation, the corner liquid film flow, and gas–liquid displacement during evaporation. Two forms of salt precipitation are revealed: aggregated polycrystalline structures and large bulk crystals. It is found that gas bubbles can be formed because of imbibition of liquid into aggregated polycrystalline structures. The length of a corner liquid film can affect the direction of growth of the aggregated polycrystalline structures connected to the corner liquid film. Discontinuous corner liquid films can be transformed to continuous ones when they are touched by growing aggregated polycrystalline structures. The “sleeping” aggregated polycrystalline structures at the open surface of a microfluidic pore network, i.e., efflorescence, can grow again if they are touched by growing aggregated polycrystalline structures inside the microfluidic pore network, i.e., subflorescence. Because of efflorescence, the evaporation rate from a microfluidic pore network can increase first and then decrease. Moreover, a theoretical model is developed for the coupled transport of vapor diffusion in the gas zone and liquid flow as well as transport of dissolved salt in the corner liquid films in a capillary tube of square cross section so as to disclose the key parameters controlling the transport processes.