SEM-Based Approaches for the Identification and Quantification of Anhydrite

Giordano, Emmanuele; Paschetto, Arianna; Costa, Emanuele; Bonetto, Sabrina M. R.; Mosca, Pietro; Frasca, Gianluca; Caselle, Chiara

doi:10.3390/app15179584

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SEM-Based Approaches for the Identification and Quantification of Anhydrite

by

Emmanuele Giordano

¹,

Arianna Paschetto

²

,

Emanuele Costa

²

,

Sabrina M. R. Bonetto

²

,

Pietro Mosca

¹,

Gianluca Frasca

¹ and

Chiara Caselle

^2,*

¹

Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources—National Research Council of Italy (CNR–IGG), University of Turin, Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Turin, Italy

²

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Turin, Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Turin, Italy

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(17), 9584; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15179584 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 18 July 2025 / Revised: 21 August 2025 / Accepted: 27 August 2025 / Published: 30 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Research in Structures and Rocks in Geotechnical Engineering: 2nd Edition)

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Abstract

For investigating and modeling the swelling potential of anhydrite rocks, it is important to define a fast but accurate, reliable, and repeatable procedure for mineral identification and quantification of anhydrite mineral in rock samples. We propose a quantitative evaluation of the applicability of two different SEM-based approaches (namely, image analysis and the use of the O/S atomic ratio) for the identification and quantification of anhydrite in polished slices of rock. We compare the results obtained with the bulk densities of the samples and with the outcomes of thermogravimetric analyses, demonstrating high convergence between the different data. We eventually propose a critical comparison between the proposed approaches and the existing methods, overall providing a practical guide for the selection of the best analytical procedure for the quantification of anhydrite content in rocks and, consequently, for the correct estimation of swelling potential.

Keywords: swelling of anhydrite; Scanner Electron Microscope; mineralogical characterization; image analysis; image segmentation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Giordano, E.; Paschetto, A.; Costa, E.; Bonetto, S.M.R.; Mosca, P.; Frasca, G.; Caselle, C. SEM-Based Approaches for the Identification and Quantification of Anhydrite. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 9584. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15179584

AMA Style

Giordano E, Paschetto A, Costa E, Bonetto SMR, Mosca P, Frasca G, Caselle C. SEM-Based Approaches for the Identification and Quantification of Anhydrite. Applied Sciences. 2025; 15(17):9584. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15179584

Chicago/Turabian Style

Giordano, Emmanuele, Arianna Paschetto, Emanuele Costa, Sabrina M. R. Bonetto, Pietro Mosca, Gianluca Frasca, and Chiara Caselle. 2025. "SEM-Based Approaches for the Identification and Quantification of Anhydrite" Applied Sciences 15, no. 17: 9584. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15179584

APA Style

Giordano, E., Paschetto, A., Costa, E., Bonetto, S. M. R., Mosca, P., Frasca, G., & Caselle, C. (2025). SEM-Based Approaches for the Identification and Quantification of Anhydrite. Applied Sciences, 15(17), 9584. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15179584

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