Chemical reaction, diffusion, and ionization model for dissolution of oxygen acids and carbon acids

A chemical reaction, diffusion, and ionization model, which assumes the establishment of ionization equilibrium at an equilibrium plane located within the diffusion layer, is tested by use of experimental dissolution rates for some oxygen acids and carbon acids. For oxygen acids both two- and three-zone models predict observed dissolution rates; however, for barbituric acid dihydrate and phenylbutazone neither model successfully depicts the dissolution behavior. Although the three-zone model approximately predicts dissolution rates of oxygen acids, its complexity does not add to the accuracy of the calculated rate. The three-zone model does support the frequent assumption that ionization is instantaneous and can be ignored in modeling.