Non-equilibrium thermodynamic model for calcium carbonate supersaturated solutions of high salinity

Based on principles of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, the behavior of calcium carbonate supersaturated solutions of high salinity is studied. For this purpose, these solutions are treated as continuous media whose physicochemical properties change in space and time. Furthermore, by exploiting the Muller–Liu formulation for the second law of thermodynamics, one recognizes which thermodynamic forces are responsible for keeping the \(CaCO_{3}\) supersaturated solutions out of equilibrium. The obtained results suggest that intermolecular interaction forces play an important role in the dynamics of solution, as well as in the mass transport of solutes. Particularly, from the estimated values for the self-diffusion and mutual diffusion coefficients of NaCl(aq), \(CaCl_{2}(aq)\), and \(Na_{2}CO_{3}(aq)\), one discusses whether changes in the concentration of NaCl(aq) may affect the mass transport of \(Na_{2}CO_{3}(aq)\) and \(CaCl_{2}(aq)\) in calcium carbonate supersaturated solutions. The results of this work may be helpful to understand better the influence of diffusive processes and intermolecular interaction forces on the dynamics of calcium carbonate supersaturated solutions of high salinity.