Visual MINTEQ ver
2.61
Note! This is a
mirror site to the main Visual
MINTEQ website!
Introduction
You are invited to download a freeware version of Visual MINTEQ!!
Visual MINTEQ is
a Windows version of MINTEQA2 ver 4.0, which was
released by the USEPA in 1999. MINTEQA2 is a chemical equilibrium
model for the calculation of metal speciation, solubility equilibria etc. for natural waters. It is probably the
most widespread model for these purposes today, and it is renowned for its
stability. As the development of a Windows version of MINTEQA2 is being
supported by the two Swedish research councils VR
and MISTRA, the program is
distributed via Internet from this server free of charge.
Visual MINTEQ
has been developed to make the powerful features of MINTEQA2 more easily
accessible for graduate and post-graduate students in soil and water
chemistry. However also for research purposes the program has the potential
of speeding up the management of input and output data. Visual MINTEQ has
also been modernised to include new options for adsorption modelling. Here
are some examples of what Visual MINTEQ can do:
- Ion
speciation using equilibrium constants from the MINTEQA2 database,
which has been updated using the most recent NIST data to contain
> 3000 aqueous species and > 600 solids
- Solubility
calculations involving solid phases
- Adsorption
calculations with adsorption isotherms, five surface complexation models (Diffuse Layer, Constant
Capacitance, Triple Layer, Basic Stern and Three Plane), with the 1-pK
or 2-pK formalisms, and with the CD-MUSIC concept
- Ion-exchange
calculations using the Gaines-Thomas formalism
- Metal-humic
complexation can be simulated using the Gaussian
DOM, the Stockholm Humic Model, or the NICA-Donnan model.
- Calculations
with redox couples and gases (e.g. CO2)
- Sweep
runs in which one parameter is varied, e.g. pH or the total
concentration of a component.
- Titrations
in which a titrant with a given composition
is added in steps to the original solution.
- Data
import from Excel
- Presentation
of results from Visual MINTEQ runs on separate output tables; export
of results to Excel
- Management
of Visual MINTEQ's thermodynamic databases
from within the program
- HTML
help files assist you in getting started.
Help is initiated by opening the file "Vminhelp.htm"
Technical notes:
- The
program was written with Visual Basic 6.0, professional edition, and
Visual Basic 2003 .NET.
- You
will need Windows 95 or NT 4.0 or higher to run this program.
- Since
Visual MINTEQ interfaces with Excel, it is desirable that you have
Excel 5 or higher installed on your computer.
- The
program will NOT fit on your screen resolution is low; adjust it
if necessary.
- I
do not take any responsibility for possible problems that arise
because of the installation of this program. However, I would be
grateful if problems and bugs are reported to me; this will benefit
future users of this program.
- The
.NET version of the program requires .NET framework 1.1 or higher (can be downloaded from
Microsoft). In addition, if you plan to run the program on a
network server, you may have to change the security settings in .NET
framework to allow execution of "Mintrun.exe" in the local
intranet zone.
- Decimal symbols: The program works best if you use the .
(point) as the decimal symbol in Windows. The
use of decimal commas may lead to "Type mismatch" errors in
some cases. Therefore, if you use a ,
(comma), which is the case for many European users, go to the Control
panel and choose 'Date, Time, Language, and Regional options',
followed by 'Change the format of numbers, dates and times' (in Windows
XP, the name of the menus may be different in other operating
systems), click Customize and change the decimal symbol to a . (point)!
- Permissions / Security settings: To
use the software you need to have the permission to read and write in
the folder where Visual MINTEQ is installed. After updating to version
2.61 on some computers the security settings may cause bug
no. 5 as described below.
Jon Petter
Gustafsson 15/6 2000, revised 15/1 2009
Version history:
ver. 2.61. First released 2/4 2009. This release addresses some issues found in
the code for the new interfaces for surface complexation
and organic complexation of ver.
2.60. A new menu for “Database selection” is also introduced
that facilitates the change of thermodynamic databases.
If you already have version 2.53 or version
2.60 installed, you can upgrade to ver. 2.61 also
by downloading this zip
file. To proceed, follow this procedure:
1.
Extract the
contents to your VMINTEQ folder and replace the old files with the same
names
2.
In case you
upgrade from version 2.53, add or change the shortcut to Visual MINTEQ on
the main menu and/or on the program menu from “vminteq.exe” to
“vminteq08.exe”.
3.
Open Visual
MINTEQ, click “Help” – “About” and check that
you are in fact opening version 2.61. If not, the shortcut is not working;
go back to point 2
4.
Check that bug no. 5 does not occur after updating the files.
Click here for
information on earlier versions
Future plans
Don't worry,
I really hope that Visual MINTEQ will be further extended in the future. Do
not hesitate to suggest improvements.
Download
The components of Visual
MINTEQ, ver. 2.61, can be
downloaded from this server. All essential components required for the
program are included in the Visual MINTEQ setup program. NOTE! Before
downloading, you should remove any previous versions of Visual MINTEQ from
your computer (remove it / them from the Control Panel). If you
don't, installation may be incomplete. (Old input and output
files will not be destroyed by this procedure; however, if you have made
changes to one of the databases that you would like to keep, save it in a
name different from its default name before removing).
When you have downloaded the files, you will have to unzip them using
WinZip or PKUNZIP. I would be grateful if you mailed me to register as a user. As a
registered user I will keep you notified of future updates of the program.
NOTE! I have
accidentally dropped part of my e-mail lists, so if you registered before
2005 there is a risk I have lost your e-mail address. To be notified about
updates again, please e-mail me.
The Visual MINTEQ setup program, Setup.exe, is included in the zip file
below. Normally this is initiated automatically if you use a recent version
of WinZip to unzip the file. Alternatively, when you have unzipped the
files, double-click on 'Setup.exe'. After installation, use Windows
Explorer to create a shortcut to "vminteq.exe" and copy it to
your desktop.
Version 2.61
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Name of file
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Last modified
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Compressed size
|
Expanded size
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vminsetup.zip
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11/8 2009
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3.2 MB
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c. 5 MB
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NOTE!!!
.NET Framework is required for this program. If you don't
have .NET Framework installed on your machine, please download the .NET Framework
redistributable package from
here!
By far the most common e-mail message I get from users is what causes the
"File not found" error when clicking "Run" on the main
menu (the correct reason in a large majority of the cases is that .NET
Framework is not properly installed, see bug no. 3
below).
To
access the help file system, locate the file "vminhelp.htm" (in your
VMINTEQ folder) in Windows Explorer, and then double-click on this file to
open it in your browser. The help files can now also be opened directly
from the program (this requires Internet Explorer). Apart from the help
files, there is no manual; however, the EPA manual for MINTEQA2 contains
background information of how MINTEQ works.
Alternative databases
In general, I recommend the use of the databases that accompany the
standard version of the program, as included in the above setup package. However,
there are other alternatives. Below two alternative packages of
thermodynamic databases can be downloaded, the Original Database for
MINTEQA2 ver. 4.0, and Lindsay's Revised
Database. For more information, please read the "readme.txt" file in the downloadable zip file.
The main Visual MINTEQ databases are available also in GWB format, for
modellers who work with GWB (Geochemist's Workbench):
thermo_minteq.dat – The thermodynamic
database from Visual MINTEQ release 2.40, for use with GWB releases 5.0 and
later. This dataset invokes activity coefficient calculations consistent
with the implementation in Visual MINTEQ.
thermo_minteq_gwb4.dat
– The thermodynamic database from Visual MINTEQ release 2.40, for
use with GWB release 4.0.x. This dataset invokes the default method in the
GWB for calculating activity coefficients; hence the results will vary
slightly from the Visual MINTEQ output.
FeOH_minteq.dat – Surface complexation
data from Visual MINTEQ release 2.40, for use with all recent (4.0 and later)
GWB releases.
See the GWB pages
for more information
References
Visual MINTEQ has been
used in both research and teaching, and in many different applications. Many
examples can be found in the literature - it is estimated that Visual
MINTEQ has been used in > 400 journal papers.
Known bugs (ver. 2.60 / ver. 2.61)
# 1.
MINTEQ does not always converge when counter-ion accumulation to a charged
surface is considered, and when the the NICA-Donnan or SHM models are used. In both cases,
convergence may often be obtained either when a minute change is made to
the total concentration of components, or when a low initial activity guess
for one of the components is made.
# 2.
"Type mismatch" errors may be a problem for some European users,
because of the use of the decimal comma as the decimal symbol. To avoid
this problem, see instructions above under "Technical notes".
# 3. If
you get a "File not found" error when clicking the
"Run" button in Visual MINTEQ, the reason can be that .NET
Framework is not properly installed. If so, follow
this link to download and install .NET Framework, and then try again!
# 4.
Although the software should generally run with Windows Vista, some users
report problems with missing OCX files, which results in an error message
when starting the program. As this software uses OCX files such as comdlg32.ocx,
it is necessary to have these installed. Ask your computer administrator
for how to fix this problem if it occurs.
# 5. If
you used an older Visual MINTEQ version, and you used one of the zip files
above to update files or to reinstall, there is a risk that Visual MINTEQ
uses the wrong databases (i.e. the old databases) when you use it for the
first time. This is the case if component names such as
“ADS1TYP1” etc appear in the component list on the main menu.
If this happens, go to “Various default settings” and check
that the default databases are “thermo.vdb”,
“type6.vdb”, “comp_2008.vdb”, and “gaussian.vdb”. If not, this bug is a reality and
you need to change the default databases to the ones mentioned above. The
software should then run normally.
As the
program is subject to development, it probably contains some bugs which are
unknown to me. Please mail me
whenever
you encounter any bugs!!
Links.
I. EPA
MINTEQA2 homepage at
the EPA . From here important background documents can be downloaded.
Links.
II. Other chemical
equilibrium programs
Here is my selection of
related software, which may be worth taking a look at if you consider other
alternatives than Visual MINTEQ. It is your decision which is the best one
for your needs (maybe you need more than one to cover your needs!):
Freeware
PHREEQC-2
(Parkhurst and Appelo).
A powerful Windows program which, among other things, allows inclusion of
physical transport in your calculations.
CHEAQS (Verweij).
Windows-based speciation program, with a database similar to Visual MINTEQ.
HYDRA / MEDUSA (Puigdomenech). Another Windows-based speciation
program, which can create many kinds of diagrams.
PHRQPITZ
(Plummer et al.). This DOS program is one of the few which can be used to
model high-ionic strength waters with Pitzer
equations for activity correction.
WinHumicV (Gustafsson).
Contains Tipping's Model V. See also WHAM-6
below.
ORCHESTRA (Meeussen). This Java-based application can link
equilibrium chemistry to physical transport in a potentially very efficient
way. It is still under development and not recommended for the beginner, as
it requires some coding.
Commercial software
ECOSAT (Keizer). DOS program
but with Windows-type menus. This is the only program which contains the
NICA-Donnan model for humic
substances.
WHAM 6.0
(Tipping and Lofts). The only program which has incorporated Tipping's Model VI for humic
substances, and the SCAMP model by Lofts and Tipping.
Geochemist's
Workbench (Bethke). This program can be used
for many purposes, such as speciation, generation of stability diagrams
etc.
Other relevant links can be found at:
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Software Directory
Jan van der Lee's links collection
Last edited 2009-04-02
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