Open AccessA thermodynamic model of the hydrolysis of microcline in acid sulfate solutions
Author(s) -
R.E. Dedolph,
William Parry
Publication year - 1976
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/891942
Subject(s) - microcline , albite , quartz , mineralogy , chemistry , zoning , butte , thermodynamics , hydrothermal circulation , hydrolysis , geology , law , physics , paleontology , seismology , political science , biochemistry
A theoretical model of the hydrolysis of microcline by a hydrothermal solution has been determined for a closed system at constant temperature. Hypothetical solution compositions and temperatures were chosen to match the known geothermal system at Roosevelt Hot Springs, Utah. The calculated reaction paths indicate that the overall reaction process is an exchange of potassium from the reactant mineral, microcline, for hydrogen from the solution. Aluminum is nearly conserved among solid phases. The amount of microcline reacted per kilogram of solution before overall equilibrium is reached is a function of temperature and initial solution pH. Since the system is closed and at constant temperature natural conditions are not reproduced well enough to apply the model as a geothermometer. The reaction paths suggest qualitative models of alteration mineral zoning patterns that are similar to zoning at Roosevelt Hot Springs, utah; Steamboat Springs, Nevada, and Butte, Montana. The models presented view alteration zoning as a function of temperature and pH gradients within homogeneous host rocks where microcline and quartz are abundant