Caking, or the agglomeration of a free-flowing powder into lumps, is
a major problem when handling solid hygroscopic particulate materials,
and has therefore been studied for a long time [1,2]. Many different
mechanisms for caking exist. For (crystalline) hygroscopic materials
caking is commonly caused by partial dissolution and subsequent
recrystallisation of the solid during humidity variation of the
environment. When handling small amounts of material, caking can
be prevented by keeping the material dry, or by adding a drying agent.
However, at large scale this is no longer possible, and anticaking agents
are required.