Caustic Waste-Soil Weathering Reactions and Their Impacts on Trace Contaminant Migration and Sequestration

Technical Report · Sun Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/838400· OSTI ID:838400

Chorover, Jon; Mueller, Karl T; O'Day, Peggy; Serne, R Jeff

High pH waste solutions are in gross chemical disequilibrium with the subsurface environment and react with sediment minerals, promoting dissolution and precipitation processes that impact 137Cs, 90Sr, and 129I speciation and migration behavior in the vadose zone. We have conducted long-term kinetic studies, with reaction times ranging from 1 to 369 d, to examine relationships between aluminosilicate weathering in the presence of synthetic tank waste leachate (STWL) and contaminant uptake and release. Our experiments employ a sequence of specimen clay minerals including illite, vermiculite, montmorillonite and kaolinite, which are also important reactive solids in the Hanford sediments. These studies have shown direct coupling between mineral transformation reactions and contaminant sequestration/stabilization.

• Research Organization: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (US); Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC) (US)
• DOE Contract Number: FG07-02ER63504; FG07-99ER15012; FG07-02ER63505
• OSTI ID: 838400
• Report Number(s): EMSP-86984--2003b
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CLAYS
DISSOLUTION
ILLITE
KAOLINITE
KINETICS
LEACHATES
LIQUID WASTES
MONTMORILLONITE
PRECIPITATION
SEDIMENTS
TANKS
TRANSFORMATIONS
VERMICULITE
WASTES
WEATHERING