Rapid onset of calcium carbonate crystallization under the influence of a magnetic field

Although the mechanisms are not fully understood, magnetic treatment of water systems has been in existence for over a century. One of the major applications is to suppress water-scale deposition on the inner surface of boilers, heat exchangers and pipelines. Three dynamic rates play important roles in the crystallization process: these are association, dissociation and nucleation rates. In this paper we report on a series of laboratory experiments concerning the formation of calcium carbonate from super-saturated solution. The results indicate that under certain conditions in the presence of an external magnetic field, the nucleation rate can be greatly increased. This was observed as a rapid onset or “burst” of crystallization within the bulk solution, and can be quantitatively described as the scattering of incident light—the so-called Tyndall effect. As a consequence of the faster precipitation in the presence of the magnetic field, the resultant crystals are greater in number, with smaller sizes and irregular shapes. This observation is in agreement with an earlier report on a different magnetic treatment method.