Can PHREEQC be used to predict speciation in power plant cooling towers at various levels of evaporation? The towers run to saturation, typically, of calcium carbonate, but other salts of magnesium, silica, iron, phosphorus, etc. are possible and would limit the amount of water that could be evaporated. I read in the manual that PHREEQC will not give a true "path" thermodynamic answer in evaporation questions. But, it would seem that the program should still be useful in a stepwise calculation of what happens as evaporation progresses. If PHREEQC can work in this application, can the effect of scale inhibitors (phosphonates, acrylates, etc.) be modeled as well? In some areas of the country the blowdown from the cooling tower is processed in evaporators and mixed salt crystalizers to produce cake salt. Can PHREEQC predict the speciation of the product salts? Are there any references or papers that you know of that discuss using PHREEQC in this manner?
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