Publications
Experimental determination of lead carbonate solubility at high ionic strengths: a Pitzer model description
Abstract In this study, solubility measurements of lead carbonate, PbCO3(cr), cerussite, as a function of total ionic strengths are conducted in the mixtures of NaCl and NaHCO3 up to I = 1.2 mol kg-1 and in the mixtures of NaHCO3 and Na2CO3 up to I = 5.2 mol kg-1, at room temperature (22.5 ± 0.5 °C). The solubility constant (log Kos) for cerussite was determined as -13.76 ± 0.15 (2σ) with a set of Pitzer parameters describing the specific interactions of PbCO3(aq), Pb(CO3)2-2, and Pb(CO3)Cl- with the bulk-supporting electrolytes, based on the Pitzer model. The model developed in this work can reproduce the experimental results including model-independent solubility values from the literature over a wide range of ionic strengths with satisfactory accuracy. The model is expected to find applications in numerous fields, including the accurate description of chemical behavior of lead in geological repositories, the modeling of formation of oxidized Pb-Zn ore deposits, and the environmental remediation of lead contamination.