Concerning the total potential energy in Figure (a), a relatively constant value for lower water contents is visible. The energy values become less negative with increasing water content. Thus, the potential energy has the minimum value, when the SOM systems are more compact, namely at lower water contents. Based on the aforementioned considerations regarding the stability of SOM structures, it is assumed that the non-bonded interactions, and especially the Coulomb interactions are responsible for the lower potential energy. To verify this, the potential energy was subdivided into its individual components.