Application of water flow and geochemical models to support the remediation of acid rock drainage from the uranium mining site of Pocos de Caldas, Brazil
- CNEN - National Nuclear Energy Commission (Brazil)
- International Atomic Energy Agency - IAEA, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100 - 1400 Vienna (Austria)
- U.S. Salinity Laboratory, USDA, ARS, 450 W Big Springs Road Riverside, CA 92507 (United States)
- Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Marques de Sao Vicente, 225 - Gavea CEP 22453-900 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Av. Pedro Calmon, no 550 - Predio da Reitoria - 2o andar Cidade Universitaria - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - CEP 21941-901 (Brazil)
Available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: This paper discusses the use of two numerical models (HYDRUS-2D and STEADQL-v4) for simulating water flow and relevant geochemical processes in one of the waste rock piles of the first uranium mine in Brazil, in order to facilitate the selection of appropriate remediation strategies. The long time scale required for the oxidation of sulfidic wastes (at least 600 years) implies the need to implement permanent remediation actions. The best remediation scheme should depend on the water flow regime inside the waste pile and on the geochemical processes that occur as a result of the interactions between water and the waste (especially oxidative dissolution of pyrite). Accurate modeling of the waste site, which contains a wide range of grain and rock sizes at different degrees of water saturation and is subject to reactive multicomponent transport, entails considerable physical, mathematical and numerical challenges. This paper describes the approach used to obtain a detailed representation of the system involving both unsaturated/ saturated flow (most of the physical properties of the waste were estimated from measured data) and the geochemical network reactions (including equilibrium and kinetics reactions). (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Three Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990 (United States); Technological Institute of the Royal Flemish Society of Engineers (TI-K VIV), Het Ingenieurshuis, Desguinlei 214, 2018 Antwerp (Belgium); Belgian Nuclear Society (BNS) - ASBL-VZW, c/o SCK-CEN, Avenue Hermann Debrouxlaan, 40 - B-1160 Brussels (Belgium)
- OSTI ID:
- 21156545
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICEM'07: 11. International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management, Bruges (Belgium), 2-6 Sep 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; Proceedings may be ordered from ASME Order Department, 22 Law Drive, P.O. Box 2300, Fairfield, NJ 07007-2300 (United States)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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