<p>Here is a link to a hydrochemical consultant, Dr. C.A.J. Appelo, and the public-domain software FREEQC.</p>

<p>It can be downloaded from <a href="http://www.hydrochemistry.eu/" rel="nofollow">here</a></p>

<p>This link leads to an <a href="http://www.hydrochemistry.eu/exmpls/sea_evap.html" rel="nofollow">example</a> of salt precipitation rates when evaporating sea water.</p>

<p>The formulation used is detailed in a second <a href="http://www.hydrochemistry.eu/ph3/manual2_eqns.pdf" rel="nofollow">manual</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-16T16:12:35.197Z
truly a helpful brief answer, thanks. I see two problems, though: 1) the code is not open source (as I understand from the site), and 2) the formulation manual is not very accessible for dummies as me. So it is impossible (for me) to reproduce their calcualtions.
DrGC
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-14T23:38:22.277Z
2016-01-15T12:41:13.120Z
2016-01-15T12:41:13.120Z
Mari wind fox
<p>Is there a simple formulation to estimate the rate of salt precipitation in a brine given its ion concentrations and the evaporation rate? </p>

<p>For example: if we know the concentrations of Cl<sup>−</sup>, Na<sup>+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup> of a sea-water brine at a known temperature <em>T</em>, what salt(s) and how much of each will precipitate for a given evaporation rate <em>E</em> (assuming time enough for equilibrium)?
Can you refer to a concise text-book or article?</p>

<p>I need something that goes beyond the simplistic saturation concentration concept (i.e., prescribed limit for diluted salt concentration). The effects of life in the solution can be dismissed. </p>

<oceanography><geochemistry><precipitation><sedimentology><evaporation>
A simple formulation to calculate the sequence and rate of salt precipitation in a brine?
DrGC
# A simple formulation to calculate the sequence and rate of salt precipitation in a brine?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-08)

Is there a simple formulation to estimate the rate of salt precipitation in a brine given its ion concentrations and the evaporation rate?

For example: if we know the concentrations of Cl−, Na+, Mg2+, SO42−, Ca2+, K+ of a sea-water brine at a known temperature *T*, what salt(s) and how much of each will precipitate for a given evaporation rate *E* (assuming time enough for equilibrium)?
Can you refer to a concise text-book or article?

I need something that goes beyond the simplistic saturation concentration concept (i.e., prescribed limit for diluted salt concentration). The effects of life in the solution can be dismissed.

**Tags:** oceanography, geochemistry, precipitation, sedimentology, evaporation


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-01-14. Score: 3

Here is a link to a hydrochemical consultant, Dr. C.A.J. Appelo, and the public-domain software FREEQC.

It can be downloaded from [here](http://www.hydrochemistry.eu/)

This link leads to an [example](http://www.hydrochemistry.eu/exmpls/sea_evap.html) of salt precipitation rates when evaporating sea water.

The formulation used is detailed in a second [manual](http://www.hydrochemistry.eu/ph3/manual2_eqns.pdf)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: truly a helpful brief answer, thanks. I see two problems, though: 1) the code is not open source (as I understand from the site), and 2) the formulation manual is not very accessible for dummies as me. So it is impossible (for me) to reproduce their calcualtions.  

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