Abstract:
This study focuses on the speciation distribution and sorption characteristics of
90Sr and
99Tc at a near surface disposal facility in Northwest China. The primary geological medium in the study area is metamorphic quartz sandstone, whose main mineral components are quartz and mica. The surface potential of metamorphic quartz sandstone is negative when pH ranges from 3 to 11, and the surface potential decreases as the pH increases. The groundwater in the study area has a pH of 7.37 and an Eh of 125.7 mV; the water type is of SO
4•HCO
3-Na•Ca type. Based on the chemical compositions of groundwater in the study area, geochemical simulation software GWB was employed to simulate the chemical species of
90Sr and
99Tc in groundwater, and to evaluate the effect of pH, Eh and major anion concentrations on their speciation distribution. The simulation results indicate that speciation distribution of
90Sr is mainly governed by groundwater pH, with Sr
2+ being the predominant form in the groundwater. Besides, among the major anions(Cl
−, \mathrmSO_4^2- , \mathrmHCO_3^- and F
−) of groundwater, \mathrmSO_4^2- has the most significant impact on Sr speciation distribution. In contrast, speciation distribution of
99Tc is mainly controlled by Eh, with \mathrmTcO_4^- being the primary species in oxidized environments. Batch sorption tests were performed to determine the adsorption equilibrium time and distribution coefficient
Kd for
90Sr and
99Tc in metamorphic quartz sandstone. The test results show that adsorption equilibrium time for both
90Sr and
99Tc are approximately 30 days.
90Sr exhibits a higher
Kd value(1.68 mL/g) than
99Tc(0.68 mL/g), which indicates that metamorphic quartz sandstone has a stronger adsorption capacity for
90Sr than
99Tc. This is attributed to the negative charge on the surface of the metamorphosed quartz sandstone, making it prone to adsorbing Sr
2+ but difficult to adsorb \mathrmTcO_4^- . Batch sorption tests were also carried out to study the effect of aqueous pH on nuclide adsorption. The results show that trend in
Kd values for
90Sr and
99Tc as a function of pH is closely related to the pH-dependent speciation distribution of nuclide.
Kd values for
90Sr firstly increase and then decrease with rising pH, reaching a maximus at pH of 8. This is primarily due to the presence of a large amount of H
+ in the solution under low pH conditions, which occupies a portion of the surface adsorption sites of the geological medium; under high pH conditions, the concentrations of OH
− and \mathrmCO_3^2- in the solution increase significantly, forming complexes SrOH
+ and SrCO
3(aq) with Sr
2+, thereby hindering the adsorption of
90Sr and leading to a decrease in its
Kd. However,
Kd values for
99Tc decrease with increasing pH under the experimental conditions of oxidizing environment. This is due to that
99Tc primarily exists as \mathrmTcO_4^- across most of the pH range in the oxidizing condition and the surface electron egativity of metamorphic quartz sandstone increases with rising pH. This leads to enhanced electrostatic repulsion between \mathrmTcO_4^- and the surface of the metamorphic quartz sandstone as pH increases, further hindering the adsorption of
99Tc and causing its
Kd to decrease as pH increases.