Crystal dissolution convection-controlled

Diffusive crystal dissolution means that crystal dissolution is controlled by diffusion, which requires high interface reaction rate and absence of convection. In nature, diffusive crystal dissolution is rarely encountered, because there is almost always fluid flow, or crystal falling or rising in the fluid. That is, crystal dissolution in nature is often convective dissolution, which is discussed in the next section. One possible case of diffusive crystal dissolution is for crystals on the roof or floor of a magma chamber if melt produced by dissolution does not sink or rise. For these... 

Convective crystal dissolution means that crystal dissolution is controlled by convection, which requires (i) a high interface reaction rate so that crystal dissolution is controlled by mass transport (see previous section), and (ii) that mass transport be controlled by convection. In nature, convective crystal dissolution is common. In aqueous solutions, the dissolution of a falling crystal with high solubility (Figure 1-12) is convective. In a basaltic melt, the dissolution of most minerals is likely convection-controlled. 

For convective crystal dissolution, the dissolution rate is u = (p/p )bD/8. For diffusive crystal dissolution, the dissolution rate is u = diffusive boundary layer thickness as 5 = (Df), the diffusive crystal dissolution rate can be written as u = aD/5, where a is positively related to b through Equation 4-100. Therefore, mass-transfer-controlled crystal dissolution rates (and crystal growth rates, discussed below) are controlled by three parameters the diffusion coefficient D, the boundary layer thickness 5, and the compositional parameter b. The variation and magnitude of these parameters are summarized below. 

Dissolution distance in 18,000 s would be 174/im, greater than the diffusive dissolution distance of 48 ixm obtained earlier. There are no experimental data to compare. The convective dissolution rate can be applied only when the diffusion distance (Dt) is greater than the boundary layer thickness. If diffusion distance (Dt) is smaller than the boundary layer thickness (86.4 fim), i.e., if t< 1408 s, the dissolution would be controlled by diffusion even for a falling crystal, and the method in Section 4.2.2.3 should be used. 

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