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An assessment of strontium sorption onto bentonite buffer material in waste repository

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Abstract

In the present study, changes occurring in sorption characteristics of a representative bentonite (WIn-BT) exposed to SrCl2 (0.001–0.1 M) under the pH range of 1–13 were investigated. Such interaction revealed a significant variation in surface charge density and binding energy of ions with respect to bentonite, and alteration in their physicochemical properties viz., specific surface area, cation exchange capacity, thermal and mechanical behaviour were observed. The distribution coefficients (k d) calculated for sorption onto virgin (UCBT) and contaminated bentonite (CBT) indicated a greater influence of mineralogical changes occurred with variance of pH and strontium concentration. Notably, the sorption mechanism clearly elucidates the effect of structural negative charge and existence of anionic metal species onto CBT, and depicted the reason behind significant k d values at highly acidic and alkaline pH. The maximum k d of UCBT and CBT(0.001M SrCl2) were 8.99 and 2.92 L/kg, respectively, at the soil pH 8.5; whereas it was 2.37 and 1.23 L/kg at pH 1 for the CBT(0.1M SrCl2) and CBT(0.01M SrCl2), respectively. The findings of this study can be useful to identify the physicochemical parameters of candidate buffer material and sorption reversibility in waste repository.

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Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to Prof D. N. Singh for providing valuable suggestions during the course of study. The Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility (SAIF) and Nanoindentation Facility at IIT Bombay are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Marwadi Education Foundation, Gauridad, Rajkot, Gujarat, 360003, India

    Pankaj Pathak

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, -400076, India

    Pankaj Pathak

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Correspondence to Pankaj Pathak.

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Pathak, P. An assessment of strontium sorption onto bentonite buffer material in waste repository. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 8825–8836 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8536-1

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