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The sorption performance of corroded Gaomiaozi bentonite by evolved cement water at different temperatures: the case of europium removal

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Abstract

In the Chinese high-level radioactive waste geological disposal program, Gaomiaozi (GMZ) bentonite has been selected as the potential buffer/backfill material. After the closure of the repository, the Ca-OH-type alkaline solution (evolved cement water) released by cement degradation may last for more than 100,000 years. The bentonite will undergo the corrosion of evolved cement water (ECW) for a long period. This work focuses on the sorption property of GMZ bentonite altered by ECW. Firstly, the corrosion experiments on compacted GMZ specimens with the dry density of 1.70 Mg/m3 were carried out under constant volume conditions at two temperatures. Then, the sorption of europium (Eu (III)) onto the corroded GMZ bentonite was studied by batch experiments. The results of batch sorption tests indicate that the altered GMZ bentonite keeps an effective removal property with the uptake of Eu (III) more than 99%. The effect of high-temperature conditions of the repository on the sorption property of bentonite is not significant. The results also suggest that the evolved cement water presents no detrimental effect on the long-term adsorption performance of bentonite even under higher temperature conditions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41772279 & 41977232) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. The authors also wish to acknowledge the support of the European Commission via the Marie Curie IRSES project GREAT “Geotechnical and geological Responses to climate change: Exchanging Approaches and Technologies on a world-wide scale” (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IRSES-612665).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Geotechnical & Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Zhao Sun, Yong-gui Chen & Wei-min Ye

  2. School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Yinghui Shang & Dong-bei Wu

  3. Laboratore Navier/CERMES, Ecole des Ponts-ParisTech, 77455, Marne-la-Vallée Cedex 2, France

    Yu-jun Cui

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  1. Zhao Sun
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  2. Yong-gui Chen
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Sun, Z., Chen, Yg., Shang, Y. et al. The sorption performance of corroded Gaomiaozi bentonite by evolved cement water at different temperatures: the case of europium removal. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 25057–25068 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08895-x

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