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Updated: May 16, 2026

Calcium Carbonate Formation in the Presence of Biopolymeric Additives
Published on: May 14, 2019
Influence of Glycerol Concentration on the Dissolution Mechanism of Calcium in Water
Tatsuya Sasaki1, Hidetaka Yamada2, Ayaka Suzuki3
1Materials Research Laboratory, Technical Development Group, Kobe Steel, Ltd., Kobe, Hyogo 651-2271, Japan.
Abstract:
The structural characteristics of dissolved calcium species in glycerol-water solutions were investigated, and the mechanism by which calcium solubility increased upon increasing the glycerol concentration was elucidated. Comparative dissolution experiments using CaO in various alcohol-water solutions with varying numbers of hydroxyl groups revealed that the calcium solubility increased with increasing number of hydroxyl groups; glycerol and erythritol promoted calcium dissolution to a significantly greater extent than methanol. Structural analysis confirmed the formation of calcium-glycerol complexes and the presence of hydrated species. Evaluation of the solution viscosity and calcium concentration as a function of the glycerol mole fraction identified a critical molar fraction (Xglyc ≈0.18) at which the hydrogen-bonding network of the solution structure underwent a pronounced transition. Chemical shifts observed via proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and spin-lattice relaxation measurements suggested that increasing the glycerol content altered the local water arrangement and enhanced the stability of the calcium-glycerol complexes. At Xglyc >0.18, the calcium solubility increased sharply due to the preferential formation of stable glycerol-coordinated complexes. These findings establish a critical glycerol concentration threshold for efficient calcium dissolution and offer a new solvent design principle for selective calcium extraction and high-purity CaCO3 synthesis.
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