Sorption and diffusion behavior of Cs and Sr on Jih-Hsing bentonite

Cesium and barium removal from aqueous solutions in the presence of humic acid and competing cations by a Greek bentonite from Kimolos Island

The Cs- and Ba-sorption, onto bentonite from Kimolos island (Cyclades, Greece) was investigated in aqueous solutions in the presence of Na⁺, Ca²⁺ and humic acid. Batch experiments were performed using as tracers ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³³Ba and γ-ray spectroscopy. The sorption significantly depended on initial concentration, ionic strength and temperature of the solutions. The sorption isotherms were satisfactorily reproduced by the Langmuir and Freundlich equations. The kinetic experiments at 293, 308 and 323 K and the calculation of the thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔS° and ΔG°) indicated that Cs- and Ba-sorption was spontaneous and endothermic process. The sorbent was characterized before and after the sorption experiments using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS). It was demonstrated that the Kimolos bentonite is a good sorbent for cesium and barium from highly contaminated solutions and its sorption capacity reduced in presence of humic acid and competing cations.

Sorption and surface complexation modeling of 137Cs on Fe(II)-montmorillonite clay mineral relevant to nuclear waste disposal

Bentonite, a natural clay, is a promising candidate to be used as a buffer/backfill material in the geological disposal systems for management of high level waste (HLW). Fe released due to corrosion of canister/overpack may result in alteration of Na-montmorillonite (Na-Mt), present in bentonite, to Fe-montmorillonite (Fe-Mt) in a span of several years after the emplacement of vitrified HLW in deep geological repositories. For realistic performance assessment, it is essential to understand the sorption behavior of altered Mt with regard to the radionuclides present in HLW. Cs is one of the high-yield (137Cs t1/2 = 30.1 y, 6%) and long-lived (135Cs t1/2 = 2 × 106 y) fission products in spent fuels. The objective of present study is to understand the effect of various parameters, viz., time (0–48 h), pH (3.0–9.0), ionic strength (0.001–1 M) [Cs(I)] (10−10–10−3 M) and Fe dissolution on sorption behavior of Cs(I) on Fe(II)-Mt through batch sorption experiments. Fe(II)-Mt was synthesized by reducing Fe(III)-Mt using ascorbic acid as reducing agent in N2 atmosphere. The near-constancy in Cs(I) sorption on Fe(II)-Mt with pH (≥4), and decrease with increasing ionic strength, illustrate the ion exchange as dominant mode of Cs(I) sorption. Further, Cs(I) sorption isotherm on Fe(II)-Mt is found to be linear. The estimation of dissolved iron in the supernatant of Fe(II)-Mt suspensions demonstrated that dissolved Fe decreased with increase in pH and increased with increase in ionic strength. Moreover, the Fe2+/Fetotal ratio determined in all experiments was close to unity, thereby depicting that Fe(II) did not oxidize to Fe(III), except when suspension pH was ≥ 5.5. For comparison, Cs(I) sorption was also studied on Na(I)-Mt and compared with that on Fe(III)-Mt. Surface complexation modeling of Cs(I) sorption on the three clay minerals, viz., Na-Mt, Fe(II)-Mt and Fe(III)-Mt, has been successfully carried out.

Mobility of Radionuclides in Fractured Carbonate Rocks: Lessons from a Field-Scale Transport Experiment

Current research on radionuclide disposal is mostly conducted in granite, clay, saltstone, or volcanic tuff formations. These rock types are not always available to host a geological repository in every nuclear waste-generating country, but carbonate rocks may serve as a potential alternative. To assess their feasibility, a forced gradient cross-borehole tracer experiment was conducted in a saturated fractured chalk formation. The mobility of stable Sr and Cs (as analogs for their radioactive counterparts), Ce (an actinide analog), Re (a Tc analog), bentonite particles, and fluorescent dye tracers through the flow path was analyzed. The migration of each of these radionuclide analogs (RAs) was shown to be dependent upon their chemical speciation in solution, their interactions with bentonite, and their sorption potential to the chalk rock matrix. The brackish groundwater resulted in flocculation and immobilization of most particulate RAs. Nevertheless, the high permeability of the fracture system allowed for fast overall transport times of all aqueous RAs investigated. This study suggests that the geochemical properties of carbonate rocks may provide suitable conditions for certain types of radionuclide storage (in particular, brackish, high-porosity, and low-permeability chalks). Nevertheless, careful consideration should be given to high-permeability fracture networks that may result in high radionuclide mobility.

Interaction between spent fuel components and carbonate rocks

Deep geological repository is considered the internationally accepted method for spent fuel (SF) disposal. In countries where salt, clay, tuff and granite are unavailable at geologically suitable area, other rock types may come into consideration. In Israel, carbonate rocks make up a significant portion of the surface and subsurface lithologies, thus, low permeability carbonates were evaluated as possible host rocks for a repository, and for an interim storage facility. Sorption and retardation capacity of SF components to low permeability carbonate rocks were evaluated using their chemical simulants. Strontium and Cs represent components that may leach during interim storage, while U and Ce (as a simulant for redox-active actinides) represent components that may leach under repository conditions. Rocks from the Upper Cretaceous Mount Scopus Group were sampled from boreholes at the Yamin Plateau, Israel. Single point batch experiments were conducted with synthetic rainwater spiked with tracers and interacted with five rock types of various particle sizes at 25 °C. Results were evaluated using the LeachXS™-ORCHESTRA geochemical speciation and data management program. Cerium removal was found to be related to the HCO₃^- concentration in solution, where Ce precipitated as Ce₂(CO₃)₃·XH₂O and as an amorphous carbonate phase. Removal of Cs and Sr was controlled by clays. No Sr co-precipitation as carbonate species was observed. Uranium was removed mainly by sorption onto solid organic matter, whereas clays had no significant role in U sorption. Iron-(hydr) oxides may have also played a role in U removal. Calculated partition coefficients for U, Cs, and Sr were in the order of 10¹-10² mL/g. Grain size had no significant effect on the retention capacity of the studied rocks due to similar effective surface area. The current study indicates that a repository or an interim storage facility within carbonate rocks, would provide only partial isolation of radionuclides from the environment, hence, additional engineered barriers may be required.

An approach for the efficient immobilization of 79Se using Fe-OOH modified GMZ bentonite

Because of high mobility, the immobilization of long-lived fission product 79Se (often existed as 79Se(IV) and 79Se(VI) anions) is a critical consideration in the repository of high-level radioactive waste. In this work, a Fe-OOH modified bentonite (Fe-OOH-bent) was synthesized as a potential filling material in the repository site for effective adsorption and present the migration of different species of 79Se. The adsorbent was characterized using FT-IR, XRD, XFS, zeta potential and BET to clarify its physical properties, compositions and structures. A good thermal and radiation stabilities of Fe-OOH-bent was confirmed by its stable uptake ratio for Se(IV) and Se(VI) compared to original samples. The batch experimental results show that Se(IV) and Se(VI) can be efficiently removed from aqueous by Fe-OOH-bent within 60 min with maximum adsorption capacities of 68.45 mg/g for Se(IV) and 40.47 mg/g for Se(VI) in the optimal conditions, indicating its high potential application in consideration of its simple synthesis process, low cost and high adsorption capacity in view of immobilization of 79Se. The surface species and variation of oxide state of Fe as well as Se(IV) and Se(VI) onto Fe-OOH-bent were investigated by XPS analysis. The values of relative area of Se(IV)–O and Se(VI)–O in XPS spectra followed the same tendency as their adsorption ratio with the variation of system pH, suggesting that the formation of complexes between selenium species and Fe-OOH-bent surface.

Physico-chemical studies in the removal of Sr(II) from aqueous solutions using activated sericite

Sericite, a mica based natural clay, was annealed at 800 °C for 4 h followed by acid activation using 3.0 mol/L of HCl at 100 °C in order to obtain activated sericite (AS). The activation of sericite causes a significant increase in specific surface area. Further, SEM images of the AS showed a disordered and heterogeneous surface structure with mesopores on its surface whereas the pristine sericite possessed a compact layered structure. The materials were further employed in the removal of Sr(II) from aqueous solutions in a batch reactor system. Removal of Sr(II) was studied as a function of pH, concentration of adsorbate, contact time, background electrolyte concentrations and dose of adsorbents using pristine sericite and AS. The removal of Sr(II) was favoured increasing the pH of the solution and the extent of Sr(II) removal was increased with increasing the sorbate concentration. Equilibrium sorption data obtained with pristine sericite were fitted well to Langmuir adsorption isotherm whereas the sorption data collected using AS better fitted to the Freundlich adsorption isotherm. The time dependence sorption data showed that the uptake of Sr(II) was very rapid and an apparent sorption equilibrium was achieved within 30 min and 60 min of contact for sericite and AS, respectively. The kinetic data were modelled to the pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order rate kinetics and sorption capacities as well as rate constants were evaluated. Increase in background electrolyte concentrations NaNO3 (0.001-0.1 mol/L) indicated that the presence of NaNO3 caused to decrease the percent removal of Sr(II) by sericite and AS. Furthermore, fixed-bed column reactor operations were performed to obtain the breakthrough data. The breakthrough data were fitted well to the non-linear Thomas equation. Therefore, the present study suggested that AS can be adequately applied for the removal of Sr(II) from the aquatic environment.

Cesium uptake from aqueous solutions by bentonite: a comparison of multicomponent sorption with ion-exchange models

The removal of cesium from concentrated aqueous solutions into Ca/Mg-bentonite for a wide range of bentonite-to-water (m/V) ratios was studied experimentally and theoretically. Using the batch technique, the equilibrium of Cs uptake was measured. The nonlinear character of cesium sorption substantially influenced by the m/V ratio was observed. The experimental data were evaluated using the multicomponent Langmuir isotherm and an ion-exchange model based on the ion-exchange reaction between Cs+ and M2+ (Ca2+/Mg2+) initially sorbed on bentonite. Constants k1,Cs = 0.521 mmol.g-1, k2,Cs = 968 L.mol-1, and k2,M = 592 L.mol-1 were obtained for Cs uptake described by multicomponent Langmuir isotherm. For the ion-exchange model, the thermodynamic equilibrium constant K = 75.5 mL.g-1 with a standard deviation of sK = 17.4 mL.g-1 was determined. Using the t test, the calculated data of multicomponent Langmuir and ion-exchange isotherms were fit to experimental data, and the best agreement was obtained for the ion-exchange model. The results show that Cs uptake by bentonite could be substantially decreased in systems with a high bentonite-to-water (m/V) ratio as a consequence of the presence of desorbed divalent cations in the liquid phase.

Sorption of Cesium on smectite-rich clays from the Bohemian Massif (Czech Republic) and their mixtures with sand

Sorption is an important process for the transport of radionuclides through backfill materials in a radioactive waste underground repository. Within this study, sorption of Cs on selected Czech clay materials and their mixtures with sand was investigated by batch tests. The experiments were performed under oxic conditions at 25 degrees C. Synthetic groundwater as a liquid phase and unconditioned clays (as they were provided by their producer) were used to reach the natural conditions as close as possible. Distribution ratios (Rds) of Cs for all selected clays rise with increase of the clay fraction in clay/sand mixtures in agreement with previous works studying sorption behaviour of such mixtures. The rise of Rds is from 10(2) cm3 g(-1) for mixtures with 80% of sand to 10(3) cm3 g(-1) for pure clays. There are significant differences between natural and technologically modified clays.

Investigation of 85Sr adsorption on selected soils of different horizons

Studies on the mechanism of (90)Sr migration in soil require many processes to be considered. One of the most important is sorption on the surface of mineral components of the soil. In this study adsorption of (85)Sr on a variety of soil types from different horizons has been investigated. Adsorption isotherms show various affinities of (85)Sr, depending on soil type and to a lesser extent the horizon. An important effect of pH was found with a maximum in the range 5-7. The influence of calcium ions on the extent of adsorption of (85)Sr isotope on soil samples from surface horizons of four sites is presented. Depending on the soil type differing degrees of competitive adsorption of Sr and Ca were observed. Desorption of (85)Sr by distilled water as well as Ca(NO(3))(2) solution was also examined. Both methods resulted in the removal of a considerable proportion of the adsorbed isotope from the soil. Additionally the kinetics of the desorption process were studied.

Effect of pH and concentration on the diffusion of radiostrontium in compacted bentonite—a capillary experimental study

The effects of pH and Sr2+ solution concentration on diffusion and sorption of Sr2+ in compacted bentonite (rhob = 1000+/-30 kg/m3) were studied using an "in-diffusion" method at an ionic strength of 0.1M NaClO4. The results (distribution coefficients, Kd, apparent and effective diffusion coefficients, Da and De) derived from the capillary method are in good agreement with the literature data obtained for similar bentonite dry densities and fit Fick's second law very well. The results suggest that the diffusion of Sr2+ in compacted bentonite decreases slightly with increasing pH values and also increases slightly with increasing Sr2+ solution concentration. The distribution coefficients are weakly dependent on the solution concentrations and show a slight increase with increasing pH values. The average effective diffusion coefficient of Sr2+ in compacted bentonite is (1.2+/-0.2) x 10(-9) m2/s, surface diffusion effects are found for the diffusion of Sr2+ in compacted bentonite.

Evaluation of buffer materials by associating engineering and sorption properties

To provide an overall functional evaluation of buffer materials, this study attempted to investigate the relationships among the engineering properties, plastic index (PI), compaction efficiency, sorption properties, and distribution ratio (Rd) for some buffer materials composed of quartz sand and bentonite. Th and U were nuclides of interest, and both synthetic groundwater (GW) and seawater (SW) were used for batch sorption experiments, while the deionized water (DIW) was used for engineering property tests. SW and GW were also used to evaluate the effects on PI. The results show that the maximum dry density was reached when bentonite content was 30% with the same compaction energy by the ASTM D698 method. PI and bentonite content of tested buffer materials consisting of bentonite and quartz sand demonstrated a linearly proportional relationship regardless of the solution used. The following sequence of PIDIW > PIGW > PISW is due to coagulation and flocculation effects. The buffer materials of lower PI value could decrease swelling potential and increase permeability. The Rd observed in GW and SW of U increased linearly with PI measured in DIW, although the Rd of Th remained relatively constant above a PI of 88. From the viewpoints of associated engineering and sorption properties, the buffer materials containing 30-50% bentonite are probably the most favorable choice. Another result shows that U has a better additivity with respect to Rd than Th in both synthetic GW and synthetic SW. These results will allow a determination of more effective buffer material composition, and improved estimates of the overall Rd of the buffer material mixture from the Rd of each mineral component.

The adsorption behavior of cesium on silica gel

Cesium adsorption on silica gel has been studied as a function of different particle sizes (15, 40 and 63 microm), cation concentrations and temperatures. The adsorption behavior of cesium was evaluated by using the radiotracer method. The temperatures chosen for the study were 25 degrees C, 40 degrees C, and 60 degrees C. Cesium concentrations were ranged between 1 x 10(-6) - 1 x 10(-3)M. The data were fitted to both Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isoterms. The thermodynamic parameters calculated from the adsorption results were used to explain the mechanism of the adsorption.