Evaluation of a low cost humate solution as an in situ amendment to enhance attenuation of uranium in an acidic plume - 15445
- Savannah River National Laboratory (France)
- Applied Research Center - Florida International University (France)
A single well injection test was conducted in the acidic portion of a groundwater contamination plume beneath the F-Area Seepage Basins on the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site to evaluate humate as a viable amendment to enhance attenuation of uranium and other radionuclides. Humate is typically used as an inexpensive organic fertilizer. A solution of humate was injected into a monitoring well in the heart of the F-Area Seepage Basins plume. The geochemical conceptual model suggests humate adsorbs to mineral surfaces creating a subsurface treatment zone in which uranium adsorption is enhanced. Following humate injection, groundwater was sampled from the injection well at regular intervals to determine the composition of groundwater and to evaluate the sorption of contaminants within the treatment zone. Attenuation of uranium, radioiodine and Strontium-90 was determined by comparing concentrations to analytes unaffected by the humate, specifically tritium, nitrate, and specific conductance. The post-injection monitoring data showed enhanced uranium attenuation in the treatment zone as uranium concentrations rebounded to only 68% of the pre-test concentrations. Radioiodine attenuation was complicated by changing speciation during the test. When pH was elevated by the humate injection, iodate dominated and enhanced attenuation was observed. As pH decreased, iodide dominated and enhanced attenuation decreased. Humate did not significantly attenuate Strontium-90. Results of the humate injection test demonstrate that humate strongly adsorbs to the aquifer sediments at acidic pH. Humate desorption curves suggest that a substantial fraction of humate will remain adsorbed to the sediments for long-periods of time. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22824346
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-19-WM-15445; TRN: US19V0918069392
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2015: Annual Waste Management Symposium, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 15-19 Mar 2015; Other Information: Country of input: France; 26 refs.; available online at: http://archive.wmsym.org/2015/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ADSORPTION
AQUIFERS
ATTENUATION
CONCENTRATION RATIO
CONTAMINATION
DESORPTION
FERTILIZERS
GROUND WATER
HUMIC ACIDS
IODATES
IODIDES
MINERALS
MONITORING
NITRATES
PH VALUE
PLUMES
SAVANNAH RIVER
SEDIMENTS
STRONTIUM 90
SURFACES
TRITIUM
URANIUM