Assessment of the Combined Effect of Temperature and Time on Calcium and Magnesium Release in Carbonate Rocks, Central Luconia Province, Offshore Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

Dissolution of carbonate rocks indicated by the release of calcium and magnesium ions was evaluated for a number of six samples of carbonate rocks representing three microfacies. Dissolution was measured progressive periods of time under different temperature ranges. The main objective of this paper was to evaluate the individual and collective effect of time and temperature on the dissolution trends for any facies. The method applied was the surface response method, in which, temperature, and time represented the factors, while amounts of calcium and magnesium released (in ppm) represented the responses. Dissolution was carried out experimentally under a constant pH of 0.1 m Hcl, continuous stirring. The resulting data in terms of concentration (ppm) of the Ca and Mg was used as input data for the model. Response surface method provided models for the dissolution of carbonates, optimization of dissolution, and individual-and-combined effect of each factor (Time and temp).