Aqueous electrolytes and non-electrolytes under hydrothermal conditions

许多地质和工业过程是在远远超出常规室温测量范围的条件下进行的。这项提议的目标是发展所需的知识库和理论理解，以描述在发电站、核反应堆、地热矿体、深海热液喷口和重油热采中遇到的极端温度和压力下水体系的行为。由惰性材料制成的灵敏流动量热计和密度计将用于确定温度高达400摄氏度、压力高达350大气压的液态水中简单电解质和有机分子的热力学性质。以考察离子电荷和有机官能团在接近水临界点的条件下的影响。在新开发的带有蓝宝石窗口的流动系统中，化学物种的形式及其在高温和压力下的平衡常数将通过紫外可见光谱、静态和流动池溶解技术以及能够达到超临界条件的一种独一无二的高精度电导仪器来确定。钻石顶锤和高压流动池将与共焦拉曼显微镜结合使用，通过在极端温度和压力下的直接观察来检查相关系和识别主要化学物种。*一个新的项目将检查生物前分子在高温和压力下遇到的条件下的稳定性。这项工作的新颖性在于正在研究的非常极端的条件，识别异常影响的可能性，以及开发专门的仪器技术以获得在这些非常激进的条件下复杂水体系的定量数据的必要性。

Many geological and industrial processes take place at conditions far beyond the range of conventional room temperature measurements.  The objective of this proposal is to develop the knowledge base and theoretical understanding needed to describe the behaviour of aqueous systems at extremes of temperature and pressure encountered in electrical power stations, nuclear reactors, geothermal ore bodies, deep-ocean hydrothermal vents, and the thermal recovery of heavy oil.   Sensitive flow calorimeters and densitometers, constructed of inert materials to withstand the corrosive conditions, will be used to determine the thermodynamic properties of simple electrolytes and organic molecules in liquid water at temperatures up to 400°C and pressures as high as 350 atmospheres, in order to examine the effects of ionic charge and organic functional groups under conditions approaching the critical point of water. The form of the chemical species, and their equilibrium constants at high temperature and pressure, will be determined by UV-visible spectroscopy in a newly-developed flow system with sapphire windows, by static and flow-cell solubility techniques, and with a one-of-a-kind, high-precision conductance apparatus capable of reaching supercritical conditions.  Diamond anvil and high pressure flow cells will be used in conjunction with confocal Raman microscopy to examine phase relations and to identify major chemical species by direct observation at extremes of temperature and pressure.  A new project will examine the stability of pre-biotic molecules under conditions encountered in  hydrothermal vents. The novelty in the work lies in the very extreme conditions being studied, the potential for identifying unusual effects, and the need to develop specialised instrumental techniques to obtain quantitative data for complex aqueous systems under these very aggressive conditions.