Abstract
We explore theoretically the controls on dissolution of salt A, in an undersaturated brine of salts A and B. We show that, as the concentration of B increases, the dissolution rate of A decreases, for brine of given temperature. We also show that there is a sharper decrease in dissolution rate with increasing concentration, for concentrations of B above a critical value, where B limits the equilibrium concentration. We explore the implications of the predictions for dissolution of KCl or NaCl, by a mixed brine of NaCl and KCl, a common reaction that may arise in dissolution of evaporites. We predict that, with mixed-composition brine, KCl crystals dissolve more rapidly than NaCl crystals, unless the (far-field) brine is nearly saturated in KCl. We also predict that the dissolution rate of these salts is largely independent of fluid temperature and is controlled by compositional diffusion.
Publication Date
2007-05-01
Publication Title
Proc. R. Soc. A
Volume
463
Publisher
The Royal Society
Embargo Period
2024-11-22
First Page
1211
Last Page
1229
Recommended Citation
Hatton, D., & Woods, A. (2007) 'Compositional controls on melting and dissolving a salt into a ternary melt', Proc. R. Soc. A, 463, pp. 1211-1229. The Royal Society: Available at: 10.1098/rspa.2007.1819
