Celia Aranda Reina ’21
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Mineral Dissolution
Certificate(s): Latin American Studies
I studied the mechanism and speed in which minerals dissolve. Mineral dissolution could help address essential environmental problems, from the development of sustainable agricultural practices to carbon capture and storage. In order to better understand mineral dissolution, I learned how to compute theoretical mineral-dissolution rates using a soil solution’s composition, temperature and pH. I then helped in the scaling of mineral dissolution experiments at the Mer de Glace glacier in France and at The Watershed Institute in New Jersey. Moreover, I used data from synchrotron experiments — which impart high speeds to charged particles — to study the evolution of alteration layers that can impact mineral-dissolution rates. I performed data pretreatment and fitted the data to determine parameters such as the thickness or density of these alteration layers. This internship produced useful insights into mineral dissolution at different scales, part of which will be used for the preparation of upcoming experiments for my senior thesis. This experience made me want to pursue graduate education in environmental engineering after I graduate.
2020
Water and the Environment
Interfacial Water Group, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University
Ian Bourg, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the High Meadows Environmental Institute; Bastien Wild, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment