Batch Dissolution Kinetics: The Shrinking Sphere Model with Salts and Its Potential Application to Biogenic Silica

The full potential of batch dissolution experiments in geochemical and industrial applications has been hampered by the lack of an equation to describe the increase in dissolved solid concentration with time. This study provides new experimental results on the dissolution of salts and new equations, which describe dissolution according to the shrinking sphere model. Sieved salts were found to dissolve according to the shrinking sphere model while the dissolution of the parent material, raw (agglomerated) salt, fitted an exponential dissolution curve. The implications of this to the development of a systematic approach to batch dissolution, irrespective of the solid, is explored. Mathematical equations are derived for the dissolution of solids in under-saturated systems, which are much simpler than ones available, so far. In turn these provide easier comprehension of the workings of the shrinking sphere model. Finally, existing results for biogenic silica dissolution are reviewed in the light of the above-mentioned experimental and modelling advances. An earlier claim that shrinking sphere dissolution had been observed is refuted.