The influence of four calcium complexing additives, i.e., citric acid (CIT), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and pyromellitic acid (PMA), and their concentration on the induction time of calcium carbonate nucleation has been studied. The experiments were performed by rapidly mixing a sodium carbonate solution and a calcium chloride solution of various concentrations. The induction time was obtained by recording the white light absorption of the solution. Chemical speciation was used to estimate the initial thermodynamic driving force of each experiment. The induction time was found to increase with additive concentration. The effect varies from one additive to another. CIT causes the greatest increase in induction time and PMA the least. Using classical nucleation theory the experimental data were evaluated in terms of the interfacial energy. fit pure water a value of 37.8 mJ m(-2) was obtained, showing good agreement with other works. CIT DTPA and EDTA caused a notable increase of the interfacial energy at a concentration of 0.5 mmol l(-1). PMA does not appear to have any effect at all on the interfacial energy. Different mechanisms for the influence of the additives on the measured induction time and on the estimated interfacial energy are discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.