Sodalite Na8(Al6Si6O24)Cl2 (space group P4¯3n) is an important mineral belonging to the zeolite group, with several and manyfold fundamental technological applications. Despite interest in this from different disciplines, very little known regarding its high-pressure elastic properties. The present study aims at filling knowledge gap, reporting equation of state moduli sodalite calculated a wid...

Radioactive strontium (90Sr) is an important constituent of the complex wastes from past nuclear weapons production and has been stored in underground tanks at U.S. DOE sites (e.g., Hanford, WA). Using bulk and microfocused EXAFS spectroscopy, we examined temporal changes in solid-phase Sr speciation in kaolinite samples reacted for 1-369 d with high-pH, high ionic strength synthetic tank-waste...

Aluminum metal is produced by the electrolytic reduction of aluminum oxide (Al2O3), mainly extracted from bauxite ore digested in a hot caustic soda solution. This solution is supersaturated with respect to sodium aluminate and silicate, which react together to form sodalite (3[Na2O⋅Al2O3⋅2SiO2⋅2H2O]⋅Na2CO3) at high temperatures. Heat exchanger tubes are scaled with this compound, which serious...

We present a method for analyzing the mechanical properties of solids, based on normal modes and their coupling to lattice strains. This method was used to study elastic compression and thermal expansion of zeolites, with parameters calculated from density functional theory. We find in general that the bulk modulus can be divided into two contributions: a positive term arising from compression ...