PROBLEMS OF ATOMIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Series: Nuclear and Reactor Constants

since 1971

Русский (РФ)

ISSN 2414-1038 (online)

DATA FOR CALCULATING THE WATER DISSOCIATION CONSTANT IN A WIDE RANGE OF TEMPERATURES AND DENSITIES, INCLUDING THE REGION OF NEAR-CRITICAL AND SUPERCRITICAL PARAMETERS. ISSUE ANALYSIS

EDN: VEWMIG

Authors & Affiliations

Kharitonova N.L.
National Research Nuclear University Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow, Russia

Kharitonova N.L. – Leading Researcher, Cand. Sci. (Tech.). Contacts: 31, Kashirskoe sh., Moscow, Russia, 115409. Tel.: +7 (499) 324-77-77; е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of thermodynamic data for calculating the dissociation constant of pure water (the ionic product of water) – Kw, which is a reference property in the chemistry of water and aqueous solutions. In 2024, the International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS) published updated recommendations for the equation for the ionization constant of water, Kw over a wide range of temperatures and densities. The article compares the correlation equations for calculating Kw recommended by IAPWS for the period from 1981 to 2024. The following equation are considered: (1) the correlation equation for calculation adopted by IAPWS in 1981 as recommended reference data for temperatures from 0 to 1000 °C and pressures from 1 to 10,000 bar; (2) a semi-empirical equation for calculating pKw (pKw ≡ −lg(Kw)), proposed by Lvov – Bandura in 2007 and then updated in 2019 (IAPWS R11-07(2019)); (3) IAPWS recommendations adopted in 2024 (IAPWS R11-24), providing for the calculation of pKw taking into account new experimental data – precision measurements of the electrical conductivity of high-purity water obtained in 2020–2024. An analysis of the experimental data used in the correlation equations for calculating pKw in a wide range of temperatures and densities was performed. It is demonstrated that even when processing the same set of experimental points, the empirical parameters in the equation for calculating pKw can differ depending on the method used to extrapolate the limiting conductivity at infinite dilution. It is shown that the refined equation IAPWS-2024 (IAPWS R11-24), obtained on the basis of the results of precision experiments using methods for measuring electrical conductivity in a flow cell, allows more accurate calculation of pKw values in the region of near-critical and supercritical parameters due to the inclusion of these experimental data in the regression analysis.

Keywords
water dissociation constant, ionic product of water, safety, supercritical water cooled reactor, water coolant, WWER-SKD, reference data, experimental data, physical and chemical properties of water and steam, aqueous solutions, specific electrical conductivity

Article Text (PDF, in Russian)

References

UDC 621.039.58

Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Nuclear and Reactor Constants, 2025, no. 3, 3:18