Water-solid interactions in thermal analysis

The effects of water on the thermal analysis of several salts and minerals and the thermal hydrolysis of hydrated salts are discussed. The discussion is based on contributions which were presented at the 8th ICTA Congress. The presence of water decreases the activation energies of various thermal reactions in the solid state. The following reactions were discussed: (1) thermal loss of zeolitic and structural water; (2) thermal hydrolysis of hydrated salts; (3) the contribution of water vapour to thermal crystallization and decomposition processes; (4) contribution of water to mechanochemical processes as determined by thermal analysis.