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Diffusion characteristics of HTO and 99TcO4 − in compacted Gaomiaozi (GMZ) bentonite

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Abstract

The characteristics of diffusion are essential to the transport of radionuclides through buffer/backfill materials, such as bentonite, which are commonly found in waste repositories. This study used through-diffusion techniques to investigate the diffusion behavior of HTO and 99TcO4 − on GMZ bentonite of various densities. Diffusion rates were calculated by measuring the diffusion coefficients (D e, D a), plotting breakthrough curves and interpreting experiment data. The apparent and effective diffusion coefficients of HTO ranged from (1.68 ± 0.40) × 10−11 to (2.80 ± 0.62) × 10−11 m2/s and from (4.61 ± 1.28) × 10−12 to (16.2 ± 2.50) × 10−12 m2/s, respectively. The apparent and effective diffusion coefficients of 99TcO4 − ranged from (5.26 ± 0.16) × 10−12 to (7.78 ± 0.43) × 10−12 m2/s and from (1.49 ± 0.002) × 10−12 to (4.16 ± 0.07) × 10−12 m2/s, respectively. The distribution coefficients of HTO and 99TcO4 − ranged from (0.70 ± 0.12) × 10−2 to (1.36 ± 0.53) × 10−2 mL/g and from (1.12 ± 0.06) × 10−2 to (5.79 ± 2.22) × 10−2 mL/g, respectively. The D e and K d values were shown to decrease with an increase in the bulk dry density of compacted bentonite. Our results show that HTO and 99Tc could be considered non-sorbent radionuclides. The data obtained in this study provide a valuable reference for the safety assessment of waste repositories.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Nuclear Backend Management Department at Taiwan Power Company for financially supporting this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Division, Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, No. 1000, Wenhua Rd., Jiaan Village, Longtan District, Taoyuan, China

    Tsuey-Lin Tsai, Yu-Hung Shih, Liang-Cheng Chen & Te-Yen Su

  2. Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, China

    Shih-Chin Tsai

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan, China

    Chuan-Pin Lee

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  1. Tsuey-Lin Tsai
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Correspondence to Shih-Chin Tsai.

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Tsai, TL., Tsai, SC., Shih, YH. et al. Diffusion characteristics of HTO and 99TcO4 − in compacted Gaomiaozi (GMZ) bentonite. NUCL SCI TECH 28, 67 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-017-0221-z

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