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Preliminary evaluation of SEM/EDS technique for the determination of colloid diffusion coefficient in granite matrix

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Abstract

Colloids present high sorption for many solutes and are considered potential contaminant carriers in geological environments. Experimental quantitative data are required for an adequate description of colloid-mediated transport within natural media. In this paper, the line scan function of SEM/EDS was firstly applied to study colloid diffusion by depth profile in crystalline rock and the apparent diffusion coefficient was estimated to be ~ 6E−18 m2/s for 20 nm gold colloids. This technique can be applied to the prediction of colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport through water-saturated fractured porous rock for safety assessment of geological disposal for high-level radioactive waste.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Division, Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, No. 1000, Wenhua Rd., Jiaan Village, Longtan District, Taoyuan City, 32546, Taiwan

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

  2. Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan

    Shih-Chin Tsai

  3. Center for Environmental Studies, National Central University, No. 300, Zhongda Rd., Zhongli Dist, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

    I-Hsien Lee

  4. Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City, 70101, Taiwan

    Chuan-Pin Lee

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  1. Tsuey-Lin Tsai
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  2. Yu-Hung Shih
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Correspondence to Yu-Hung Shih.

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Tsai, TL., Shih, YH., Chen, LC. et al. Preliminary evaluation of SEM/EDS technique for the determination of colloid diffusion coefficient in granite matrix. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 322, 1803–1808 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-06915-w

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