skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Sorption testing and generalized composite surface complexation models for determining uranium sorption parameters at a proposed in-situ recovery site

Journal Article · · Mine Water and the Environment
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2]
  1. U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, CO (United States). Office of Legacy Management.
  2. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD (United States)
  3. U.S. Navy, Washington, D.C. (United States). Naval Nuclear Power Pipeline.
+ Show Author Affiliations

Solid-phase iron concentrations and generalized composite surface complexation models were used to evaluate procedures in determining uranium sorption on oxidized aquifer material at a proposed U in situ recovery (ISR) site. At the proposed Dewey Burdock ISR site in South Dakota, USA, oxidized aquifer material occurs downgradient of the U ore zones. Solid-phase Fe concentrations did not explain our batch sorption test results,though total extracted Fe appeared to be positively correlated with overall measured U sorption. Batch sorption test results were used to develop generalized composite surface complexation models that incorporated the full genericsorption potential of each sample, without detailed mineralogiccharacterization. The resultant models provide U sorption parameters (site densities and equilibrium constants) for reactive transport modeling. The generalized composite surface complexation sorption models were calibrated to batch sorption data from three oxidized core samples using inverse modeling, and gave larger sorption parameters than just U sorption on the measured solidphase Fe. These larger sorption parameters can significantly influence reactive transport modeling, potentially increasing U attenuation. Because of the limited number of calibration points, inverse modeling required the reduction of estimated parameters by fixing two parameters. The best-fit models used fixed values for equilibrium constants, with the sorption site densities being estimated by the inversion process. While these inverse routines did provide best-fit sorption parameters, local minima and correlated parameters might require further evaluation. Despite our limited number of proxy samples, the procedures presented provide a valuable methodology to consider for sites where metal sorption parameters are required. Furthermore, these sorption parameters can be used in reactive transport modeling to assess downgradient metal attenuation, especially when no other calibration data are available, such as at proposed U ISR sites.

Research Organization:
US Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington DC (United States). Office of Legacy Management (LM)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Legacy Management (LM), Office of Site Operations
Grant/Contract Number:
LM0000421
OSTI ID:
1253174
Journal Information:
Mine Water and the Environment, Vol. 25, Issue 2-3; ISSN 1025-9112
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 7 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (21)

Sorption of uranium(VI) at the clay mineral–water interface journal October 2010
The Nature and Development of the Wyoming Uranium Province book January 2010
Determination of contaminant levels and remediation efficacy in groundwater at a former in situ recovery uranium mine journal January 2012
Black Hills book January 2010
Approaches to surface complexation modeling of Uranium(VI) adsorption on aquifer sediments journal September 2004
Determination of the Formation Constants of Ternary Complexes of Uranyl and Carbonate with Alkaline Earth Metals (Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , Sr 2+ , and Ba 2+ ) Using Anion Exchange Method journal August 2006
The effect of calcium on aqueous uranium(VI) speciation and adsorption to ferrihydrite and quartz journal March 2006
Groundwater restoration at uranium in-situ recovery mines, south Texas coastal plain report January 2009
Speciation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in Contaminated Aquifer Sediments Using Chemical Extraction Techniques journal September 1994
Groundwater processes and sedimentary uranium deposits journal February 1999
The geochemistry of Ca, Sr, Ba and Ra sulfates in some deep brines from the Palo Duro Basin, Texas journal November 1985
Geochemical data from groundwater at the proposed Dewey Burdock uranium in-situ recovery mine, Edgemont, South Dakota report January 2012
Predictive Reactive Transport Modeling at a Proposed Uranium In Situ Recovery Site with a General Data Collection Guide journal November 2015
Solid-phase data from cores at the proposed Dewey Burdock uranium in-situ recovery mine, near Edgemont, South Dakota report January 2013
Methods for Estimating Adsorbed Uranium(VI) and Distribution Coefficients of Contaminated Sediments journal January 2004
Uranyl Adsorption onto Hydrous Ferric Oxide—A Re-Evaluation for the Diffuse Layer Model Database journal December 2009
Surface complexation modeling of Uranium(VI) sorption on quartz in the presence and absence of alkaline earth metals journal June 2013
Description of input and examples for PHREEQC version 3: a computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations report January 2013
Inverse Models: A Necessary Next Step in Ground-Water Modeling journal March 1997
The role of nonlinearity in inverse problems journal June 1998
Surface Complexation Modeling of Carbonate Effects on the Adsorption of Cr(VI), Pb(II), and U(VI) on Goethite journal October 2001

Similar Records

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
geochemical modeling
batch sorption
PHREEQC
PEST