THE EVAPORATION AND REHYDRATION OF AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Abstract

An experiment is described in which a quartz-fiber microbalance is used to measure the course of rehydration of NaCl particles at various humidities. A comprehensive theory is presented for the rehydration and evaporation rates of droplets of aqueous solutions in terms of measurable bulk physico-chemical properties. A quantitative description of convection and various thermal effects is included. Calculations from the theory are compared with experimental rehydration data on NaCl particles of dry mass from 24 to 233 micrograms in relative humidities from 80 to 100 per cent. Agreement within expected limits of error was obtained.