Home Diffusion and sorption of neptunium(V) in compacted montmorillonite: effects of carbonate and salinity
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Diffusion and sorption of neptunium(V) in compacted montmorillonite: effects of carbonate and salinity

  • Y. Tachi , T. Nakazawa , Michael Ochs , K. Yotsuji , T. Suyama , Y. Seida , N. Yamada and Mikazu Yui
Published/Copyright: November 23, 2010
Radiochimica Acta
From the journal Volume 98 Issue 9-11

Abstract

Diffusion and sorption of radionuclides in compacted bentonite/montmorillonite are key processes in the safe geological disposal of radioactive waste. In this study, the effects of carbonate and salinity on neptunium(V) diffusion and sorption in compacted sodium montmorillonite were investigated by experimental and modeling approaches. Effective diffusion coefficients (De) and distribution coefficients (Kd) of 237Np(V) in sodium montmorillonite compacted to a dry density of 800 kg m−3 were measured under four chemical conditions with different salinities (0.05/0.5 M NaCl) and carbonate concentrations (0/0.01 M NaHCO3). De values for carbonate-free conditions were of the order of 10−10–10−11 m2 s−1 and decreased as salinity increased, and those for carbonate conditions were of the order of 10−11–10−12 m2 s−1 and showed the opposite dependence. Diffusion-derived Kd values for carbonate-free conditions were higher by one order of magnitude than those for carbonate conditions. Diffusion and sorption behaviors were interpreted based on mechanistic models by coupling thermodynamic aqueous speciation, thermodynamic sorption model (TSM) based on ion exchange, and surface complexation reactions, and a diffusion model based on electrical double layer (EDL) theory in homogeneous narrow pores. The model predicted the experimentally observed tendency of De and Kd qualitatively, as a result of the following mechanisms; 1) the dominant aqueous species are NpO2+ and NpO2CO3 for carbonate-free and carbonate conditions, respectively, 2) the effects of cation excess and anion exclusion result in opposite tendencies of De for salinity, 3) higher carbonate in solution inhibits sorption due to the formation of carbonate complexes.


* Correspondence address: Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Geological Isolation Research and, Tokai, Development Directorate, Ibaraki, 319-1194, Japan

Published Online: 2010-11-23
Published in Print: 2010-11

© by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Ibaraki, 319-1194, Germany

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Preface
  2. 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
  3. Solubility of triuranyl diphosphate tetrahydrate (TDT) and Na autunite at 23 and 50 °C
  4. Effect of reduction on the stability of Pu(VI) hydrolysis species
  5. Retention and redox behaviour of uranium(VI) by siderite (FeCO3)
  6. Neptunium(V) complexation by natural pyoverdins and related model compounds
  7. Complexation of Nd(III) with tetraborate ion and its effect on actinide(III) solubility in WIPP brine
  8. Complexation of Tc(IV) with acetate at varying ionic strengths
  9. Uranyl photochemistry: decarboxylation of gluconic acid
  10. Influence of Boom Clay organic matter on the adsorption of Eu3+ by illite – geochemical modelling using the component additivity approach
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. U(VI) sorption on granite: prediction and experiments
  14. Quantum chemical study of inner-sphere complexes of trivalent lanthanide and actinide ions on the corundum (0001) surface
  15. Quantum chemical modeling of uranyl adsorption on mineral surfaces
  16. Interaction of PuO2 thin films with water
  17. Molecular interactions of plutonium(VI) with synthetic manganese-substituted goethite
  18. Chlorine speciation in nuclear graphite: consequences on temperature release and on leaching
  19. Chemical status of U(VI) in cemented waste forms under saline conditions
  20. Influence of iron redox transformations on plutonium sorption to sediments
  21. Modelling of a large-scale in-situ migration experiment with 14C-labelled natural organic matter in Boom Clay
  22. Sorption and diffusion of Eu in sedimentary rock in the presence of humic substance
  23. Diffusion and sorption of neptunium(V) in compacted montmorillonite: effects of carbonate and salinity
  24. Uranium(VI) diffusion in low-permeability subsurface materials
  25. Distribution of Cs and Am in the solution-bentonite colloids-granite ternary system: effect of addition order and sorption reversibility
  26. Mechanisms of plutonium sorption to mineral oxide surfaces: new insights with implications for colloid-enhanced migration
  27. Understanding uranium behaviour at the Askola uranium mineralization
Downloaded on 9.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1524/ract.2010.1772/html
Scroll to top button