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Adsorption behaviors of Eu(III) on granite: batch, electron probe micro-analysis and modeling studies

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Abstract

Although granite has been widely considered as the host rock of the high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) repository in the world, the adsorption behaviors of radionuclides on granite are quite complicated and still unclear, especially at molecular scales. In this study, the adsorption behaviors of europium(III) on Beishan granite (BSG), a preliminary selection of host rock for the HLRW repository in China, were explored under environmental conditions combining batch, electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), and modeling approaches. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed that albite, quartz and biotite were the main mineralogical components for the BSG grains. Eu(III) species on BSG grains are predominant as the ion exchange (≡X3Eu0) and the inner sphere complexes of ≡SwOEu(OH)20, ≡SsOEu(OH)2,0 ≡SsOEu2+, and ≡SwOEu2+. EPMA showed that the distribution of Eu(III) on BSG grains was strongly correlated to the biotite, which suggested that biotite is the host phase for retarding trivalent actinides in the BSG grains. The presence of soil humic and fulvic acids could enhance Eu(III) adsorption on BSG grains under low-pH conditions, and inhibit the adsorption under higher pH range.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Natural National Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 21601179, 41573128, 21876172, and 21601169), the Key Laboratory Project of Gansu Province (Grant no. 1309RTSA041), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (Grant no. 2016BAB203100) and by the “100-Talent” Program from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Mass Spectrometry and Instrumentation, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Hong Li & Tao Yu

  2. Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources, Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Hong Li, Bihong He, Ping Li, Qiaohui Fan, Hanyu Wu & Jianjun Liang

  3. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Key Laboratory for Fundamental Science, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Chunli Liu

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  1. Hong Li
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Li, H., He, B., Li, P. et al. Adsorption behaviors of Eu(III) on granite: batch, electron probe micro-analysis and modeling studies. Environ Earth Sci 78, 249 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8170-y

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