Abstract
A laboratory method for the study of alkaline scale is described. Evaporator conditions are easily simulated in experiments of relatively short duration (5 hours). Reproducible results have been achieved by chemical analysis for total scale which consisted of mixtures of calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide. Experiments with natural sea water show the amount and composition of alkaline scale to be a function of temperature, brine concentration, bicarbonate ion concentration, and flow conditions through the evaporator. The transition between calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide was shown to be influenced by factors other than temperature. A new mechanism for alkaline scale formation is proposed in this paper. The first step involves a unimolecular breakdown of bicarbonate ion to form hydroxide ion. This concept is in disagreement with the generally accepted mechanism described in the literature.
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