Suppressing minerals question

[Sanjoy]

Hello,

 

Why is that, when I suppress minerals from the thermodynamic database (using the suppress command), do they still appear under the "mineral saturation states" in the solution (listed in the file obtained by clicking "view results" in the "run" tab)?

 

Thanks!

[Craig Bethke]

Hi Sanjoy,

 

When you suppress a mineral, it is not available to use in the chemical system. It cannot precipitate and you cannot use it as an equilibrium buffer or kinetic reactant. Nonetheless, the mineral has a saturation state, which the programs calculate and report.

 

Suppose for example you are constructing a model of weathering. You might reasonably suppress quartz, since it reacts too slowly buffer silica activity. Now quartz will not form in the simulation.

 

You might want to know however whether at a point in the calculation the fluid is undersaturated or supersaturated with respect to the mineral. The model therefore figures quartz saturation and reports it in the output datasets.

 

Hope this helps,

Craig

[Sanjoy]

It sure does, many thanks Craig -cheers