U(VI) sorption on granite: prediction and experiments
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Cordula Nebelung
Abstract
One widely accepted approach – component additivity (CA) – to describe the sorption of contaminants onto complex materials such as rocks or soils is based on the assumption that the surface of a complex mineral assemblage is composed of a mixture of mineral constituents whose surface properties are known from independent studies. An internally consistent SCM (surface complexation model) database can be developed that describes the adsorption reactions of solutes to each phase. Here, the capability of such a methodology was tested, using the code MINTEQA2 including thermodynamic data of the NEA-TDB, and literature data for SCM, namely the DDL model.
The sorption characteristics of U(VI) on granite (from Eibenstock, Saxony, Germany, with the main components quartz, albite, orthoclase, and muscovite) was predicted and then compared to batch experiments. Granite plays an important role in the remediation of former uranium ore mining and milling sites, but is also one of the host rocks considered for final disposal of nuclear materials. Safety assessment requires a detailed understanding of this system and its retention potential with regard to hazardous components. Namely the sorption of uranium in this complex rock is not fully understood yet. The experiments thus also provided a better understanding of the far-field behaviour in granitic geological nuclear repositories.
The robustness of the prediction was tested by variation of the granite composition and the variation of the specific surface area (SSA) – first all components were predicted with a uniform granite SSA, second with a distinct SSA for each granite component (determined on pure minerals for the same grain size fractions). Changes in compositions yielded only marginal differences in the prediction. Different approaches to SSA showed somewhat larger deviations.
In conclusion, the CA methodology is a valid and robust approach to U(VI) sorption onto complex substrates such as granite, provided sufficient information on component phases is available. This should help to minimize experimental efforts and to increase confidence into complex SCM computations.
© by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Dresden, Germany
Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
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- Solubility of triuranyl diphosphate tetrahydrate (TDT) and Na autunite at 23 and 50 °C
- Effect of reduction on the stability of Pu(VI) hydrolysis species
- Retention and redox behaviour of uranium(VI) by siderite (FeCO3)
- Neptunium(V) complexation by natural pyoverdins and related model compounds
- Complexation of Nd(III) with tetraborate ion and its effect on actinide(III) solubility in WIPP brine
- Complexation of Tc(IV) with acetate at varying ionic strengths
- Uranyl photochemistry: decarboxylation of gluconic acid
- Influence of Boom Clay organic matter on the adsorption of Eu3+ by illite – geochemical modelling using the component additivity approach
- The role of green rust in the migration of radionuclides: An overview of processes that can control mobility of radioactive elements in the environment using as examples Np, Se and Cr
- A comparative batch sorption and time-resolved laser fluorescence spectroscopy study on the sorption of Eu(III) and Cm(III) on synthetic and natural kaolinite
- U(VI) sorption on granite: prediction and experiments
- Quantum chemical study of inner-sphere complexes of trivalent lanthanide and actinide ions on the corundum (0001) surface
- Quantum chemical modeling of uranyl adsorption on mineral surfaces
- Interaction of PuO2 thin films with water
- Molecular interactions of plutonium(VI) with synthetic manganese-substituted goethite
- Chlorine speciation in nuclear graphite: consequences on temperature release and on leaching
- Chemical status of U(VI) in cemented waste forms under saline conditions
- Influence of iron redox transformations on plutonium sorption to sediments
- Modelling of a large-scale in-situ migration experiment with 14C-labelled natural organic matter in Boom Clay
- Sorption and diffusion of Eu in sedimentary rock in the presence of humic substance
- Diffusion and sorption of neptunium(V) in compacted montmorillonite: effects of carbonate and salinity
- Uranium(VI) diffusion in low-permeability subsurface materials
- Distribution of Cs and Am in the solution-bentonite colloids-granite ternary system: effect of addition order and sorption reversibility
- Mechanisms of plutonium sorption to mineral oxide surfaces: new insights with implications for colloid-enhanced migration
- Understanding uranium behaviour at the Askola uranium mineralization
Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
- Solubility of tetravalent actinides in alkaline CaCl2 solutions and formation of Ca4[An(OH)8]4+ complexes: A study of Np(IV) and Pu(IV) under reducing conditions and the systematic trend in the An(IV) series
- Solubility of triuranyl diphosphate tetrahydrate (TDT) and Na autunite at 23 and 50 °C
- Effect of reduction on the stability of Pu(VI) hydrolysis species
- Retention and redox behaviour of uranium(VI) by siderite (FeCO3)
- Neptunium(V) complexation by natural pyoverdins and related model compounds
- Complexation of Nd(III) with tetraborate ion and its effect on actinide(III) solubility in WIPP brine
- Complexation of Tc(IV) with acetate at varying ionic strengths
- Uranyl photochemistry: decarboxylation of gluconic acid
- Influence of Boom Clay organic matter on the adsorption of Eu3+ by illite – geochemical modelling using the component additivity approach
- The role of green rust in the migration of radionuclides: An overview of processes that can control mobility of radioactive elements in the environment using as examples Np, Se and Cr
- A comparative batch sorption and time-resolved laser fluorescence spectroscopy study on the sorption of Eu(III) and Cm(III) on synthetic and natural kaolinite
- U(VI) sorption on granite: prediction and experiments
- Quantum chemical study of inner-sphere complexes of trivalent lanthanide and actinide ions on the corundum (0001) surface
- Quantum chemical modeling of uranyl adsorption on mineral surfaces
- Interaction of PuO2 thin films with water
- Molecular interactions of plutonium(VI) with synthetic manganese-substituted goethite
- Chlorine speciation in nuclear graphite: consequences on temperature release and on leaching
- Chemical status of U(VI) in cemented waste forms under saline conditions
- Influence of iron redox transformations on plutonium sorption to sediments
- Modelling of a large-scale in-situ migration experiment with 14C-labelled natural organic matter in Boom Clay
- Sorption and diffusion of Eu in sedimentary rock in the presence of humic substance
- Diffusion and sorption of neptunium(V) in compacted montmorillonite: effects of carbonate and salinity
- Uranium(VI) diffusion in low-permeability subsurface materials
- Distribution of Cs and Am in the solution-bentonite colloids-granite ternary system: effect of addition order and sorption reversibility
- Mechanisms of plutonium sorption to mineral oxide surfaces: new insights with implications for colloid-enhanced migration
- Understanding uranium behaviour at the Askola uranium mineralization
