Uranium Retardation Capacity of Lithologies from the Negev Desert, Israel—Rock Characterization and Sorption Experiments

Dangelmayr, Martin A.; Bussod, Gilles Y.; Reimus, Paul W.; WoldeGabriel, Giday; Calvo, Ran; Harris, Rose J.; Stauffer, Philip H.; Boukhalfa, Hakim; Klein-BenDavid, Ofra; Balaban, Noa; Rosenzweig, Ravid

doi:10.3390/min12060728

Title: Uranium Retardation Capacity of Lithologies from the Negev Desert, Israel—Rock Characterization and Sorption Experiments

Journal Article · Mon Jun 06 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Minerals

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/min12060728· OSTI ID:1880509

Dangelmayr, Martin A. ^[1];

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^[3]; Balaban, Noa ^[3];

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Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem (Israel)
Nuclear Research Center Negev (NRCN), Beer‐Sheva (Israel)

A series of batch experiments were performed to assess the uranium sorption capacity of four mineralogically distinct lithologies from the Negev Desert, Israel, to evaluate the suitability of a potential site for subsurface radioactive waste disposal. The rock specimens consisted of an organic-rich phosphorite, a bituminous marl, a chalk, and a sandstone. The sorption data for each lithology were fitted using a general composite surface complexation model (GC SCM) implemented in PHREEQC. Sorption data were also fitted by a non-mechanistic Langmuir sorption isotherm, which can be used as an alternative to the GC SCM to provide a more computationally efficient method for uranium sorption. This is because all the rocks tested have high pH/alkalinity/calcium buffering capacities that restrict groundwater chemistry variations, so that the use of a GC SCM is not advantageous. The mineralogy of the rocks points to several dominant sorption phases for uranyl (UO₂²⁺), including apatite, organic carbon, clays, and iron-bearing phases. The surface complexation parameters based on literature values for the minerals identified overestimate the uranium sorption capacities, so that for our application, an empirical approach that makes direct use of the experimental data to estimate mineral-specific sorption parameters appears to be more practical for predicting uranium sorption.

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Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 1880509

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-22-23323; TRN: US2307756

Journal Information:: Minerals, Vol. 12, Issue 6; ISSN 2075-163X

Publisher:: MDPICopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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