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Colloidal mobilization from soil and transport of uranium in (sub)-surface waters

  • Analytical methods for characterization of nano- and micro-objects
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Abstract

An analytical methodology was developed to characterize the colloidal distribution of trace elements of interest in environmental waters sampled in a same site and enables the different colloidal distributions from waters to be compared. The purpose was to provide consistent information related to the origin and nature of colloids responsible for the transport of trace element(s). The work was motivated by the observed enhanced mobility of uranium in soil. The colloidal size continuum was investigated by a multi-technique approach involving asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) coupled with ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV), multi angle light scattering (MALS), and atomic mass spectrometry (ICPMS). To take into consideration the size and shape variability specific to each sample, the size distributions were established from the gyration radii measured from MALS, also considering the size information from standard nanospheres fractionated by AF4. A new parameter called “shape index” was proposed. It expresses the difference in hydrodynamic behavior between analytes and spherical particles taken as reference. Under AF4 diffusion conditions, it can be considered as an evaluator of the deviation from the sphericity of the fractionated analytes. AF4-UV-MALS-ICPMS enabled the dimensional and chemical characteristics of the colloidal size continuum to be obtained. As a “proof of concept”, the developed methodology was applied at a field scale, in a reference study site. In order to have a “dynamic understanding”, the investigation was based on the joint characterization of colloids from surface waters and soil leachates from static and dynamic processes. In the water samples of the study site, the continuum of gyration radius ranged from a few nanometers up to 200 nm. Colloids containing iron, aluminum, and organic carbon were involved in the uranium transport in the soil column and surface waters. The colloidal uranium concentration in the surface water increased from the upstream location (approximately 13 ng (U) L−1) to the downstream location (approximately 60 ng (U) L−1).

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided by the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) within the frame of the Environment Project. Moreover, the authors thank Marie-Hélène Tailleur and Nathalie Bouillard (CEA/DAM) for their help in field investigations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour (UPPA), Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-Chimie pour l’Environnement et les Matériaux (IPREM), UMR 5254 UPPA-CNRS, Hélioparc, 2 Avenue Angot, 64000, Pau, France

    Stéphanie Harguindeguy, Martine Potin Gautier & Gaëtane Lespes

  2. CEA, DAM, DIF, 91297, Arpajon, France

    Stéphanie Harguindeguy, Pierre Crançon & Fabien Pointurier

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  1. Stéphanie Harguindeguy
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  2. Pierre Crançon
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  3. Martine Potin Gautier
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  4. Fabien Pointurier
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  5. Gaëtane Lespes
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Correspondence to Gaëtane Lespes.

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Responsible editor: Georg Steinhauser

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Harguindeguy, S., Crançon, P., Potin Gautier, M. et al. Colloidal mobilization from soil and transport of uranium in (sub)-surface waters. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 5294–5304 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2732-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2732-5

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