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Related Experiment Videos

Hexavalent uranium diffusion into soils from concentrated acidic and alkaline solutions.

Tetsu K Tokunaga1, Jiamin Wan, Jasquelin Pena

  • 1Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. tktokunaga@lbl.gov

Environmental Science & Technology
|July 1, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Uranium (U(VI)) contamination moves faster in soils at high concentrations and non-neutral pH due to weak sorption, unlike at lower concentrations where it moves slower. This impacts understanding contaminant transport in waste sites.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Geochemistry
  • Soil Science

Background:

  • Uranium contamination in soils and sediments is a significant environmental concern, often stemming from industrial waste.
  • Understanding the transport mechanisms of uranium, particularly uranyl ion (U(VI)), is crucial for effective remediation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the diffusion and transport of Uranium (U(VI)) in soils under different pH conditions.
  • To determine the influence of concentration and soil properties on U(VI) sorption and mobility.

Main Methods:

  • Experiments involved monitoring U(VI) uptake from boundary reservoirs and analyzing U concentration profiles in soil columns.
  • Soils with different pH buffering capacities (Altamont and Oak Ridge soils) were used.

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  • Micro X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy was employed to confirm the uranium speciation.

    • Main Results:

    • Uranium diffusion was measured from both acidic (pH 2) and alkaline (pH 11) solutions into soils.
    • Soils exhibited pH buffering, maintaining nearly constant pH during diffusion experiments.
    • Uranium remained in the U(VI) oxidation state throughout the experiments.
    • Measured distribution coefficients (Kd) at high U(VI) concentrations (approx. 1 mM) were low, indicating weak sorption.
    • These low Kd values are significantly lower than those observed at much lower U(VI) concentrations (nM to µM).

    Conclusions:

    • Uranium (U(VI)) transport in soils at high concentrations (approx. 1 mM) is relatively rapid, especially at non-neutral pH.
    • Weak sorption, rather than surface diffusion, is the dominant factor controlling U(VI) mobility under these conditions.
    • Findings suggest that uranium contamination can migrate more quickly than previously assumed at high concentrations in certain environmental scenarios.