ABSTRACT

The study reported in this paper concerns the role of salts in dissolution of powdered quartz. Kinetic dissolution experiment was carried out in acid media at 60 and 90°C to know the mechanism of acid alteration of rocks. The dissolution rate of silicon was accelerated by addition of such salts as sodium chloride and sodium sulfate in solution above about pH 2 but not affected below about pH 2. An accelerating effect of divalent sulfate ions was greater than that of monovalent chloride ions. Moreover, this effect became remarkably greater with increasing concentration of salts, increasing temperature and increasing pH value from 2 to 4.