IUPAC-NIST Solubility Data Series. 95. Alkaline Earth Carbonates in Aqueous Systems. Part 1. Introduction, Be and Mg

The alkaline earth carbonates are an important class of minerals. This volume compiles and critically evaluates solubility data of the alkaline earth carbonates in water and in simple aqueous electrolyte solutions. Part 1, the present paper, outlines the procedure adopted in this volume in detail, and presents the beryllium and magnesium carbonates. For the minerals magnesite (MgCO 3), nesquehonite (MgCO 3.3H 2O), and lansfordite (MgCO 3.5H 2O), a critical evaluation is presented based on curve fits to empirical and=or thermodynamic models. Useful side products of the compilation and evaluation of the data outlined in the introduction are new relationships for the Henry constant of CO 2 with Sechenov parameters, and for various equilibria in the aqueous phase including the dissociation constants of CO 2(aq) and the stability constant of the ion pair MCO 3 0(M=alkaline earth metal). Thermodynamic data of the alkaline earth carbonates consistent with two thermodynamic model variants are proposed. The model variant that describes the Mg 2+-HCO 3 - ion interaction with Pitzer parameters was more consistent with the solubility data an d with other thermodynamic data than the model variant that described the interaction with a stability constant.