Mineral sequences in precipitation/dissolution waves

A theory for flow through permeable media with equilibrium precipitation/dissolution interactions is rigorously established. The general solution in terms of waves, which represent the propagation of concentration changes is developed, and the detailed structure of a precipitation/dissolution wave in the presence of dissipation (diffusion and dispersion) is derived; this structure plays a vital role in the general solution. The solution is based on Riemann invariants and thus exhibits certain similarities to wave solutions of related problems in gas dynamics and chromatography. However, a discontinuity peculiar to the precipitation/dissolution problem prevents unification of these similar solutions into a single, more general theory.