Components, rocks, soil equilibrium

There are zeolite-bearing rocks in which one mineral is apparently being replaced by another mineral under constant P-T conditions. This indicates a system in which certain chemical components appear to be perfectly mobile a system in which the total number of phases that can coexist at equilibrium is reduced as a function of the number of chemical components which ar e internal variables of the system. Two examples of this type of equilibrium concerning zeolites can be cited saline lakes and analcite-bearing soil profiles (Hay, 1966 Hay and Moiola, 1963 Jones, 1965 and Frankart and Herbillon, 1970). In both cases a montmorillonite-bearing assemblage becomes analcite or zeolite-bearing at the expense of the expandable phyllosilicate. Other phases remain constantly present. 

Case 3. The raindrop now runs off the calcite rock and flows into a calcium-carbonate-ffee soil, where carbon dioxide is added from the decomposition of organic matter until the total CO2 is five times its original value. For simplicity, it will be assumed that no other components are added and no other reactions take place between the soil and the raindrop. In this case calcium concentration and total alkalinity are constant, and the total CO2 and initial concentrations are known. From the definition of terms and equilibrium relations we can write ... 

As mentioned earlier, the composition of natural groundwaters depends on the composition of the geological formations where they originate from they contain dissolved rock and soil components that were soluble under the conditions (such as temperature and pressure) of their formation. Their dissolution is governed by the law of thermodynamics that is, dissolution occurs when the solution is undersaturated with respect to components such as rocks and soils. Provided that the solid components are present in sufficient quantity and there is no kinetic barrier, this process may lead to a thermodynamic equilibrium. The reversed process of dissolution is precipitation, that is, the formation of a solid phase from the dissolved components of a supersaturated solution. The composition of the... 

These programs are able to model the geological systems soil/rock-aqueous solution systems that is the concentration and distribution of the thermodynamically stable species can be determined based on the total concentrations of the components and the parameters just mentioned. In addition, the programs can also be used to estimate thermodynamic equilibrium constants and/or surface parameters from the concentrations of the species determined through experiments. Thermodynamic equilibrium constants can be found in tables (Pourbaix 1966) or databases (e.g., Common Thermodynamic Database Project, CHESS, MINTEQ, Visual MINTEQ, NEA Thermodynamical Data Base Project (TDB), JESS, Thermo-Calc Databases). Some programs (e.g., NETPATH, PHREEQC) also consider the flowing parameters. 

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