Abstract
The pore characteristics and radon exhalation of uranium tailings solidified in an acid environment were investigated in this study. Tailings from the beach of a uranium tailing reservoir in the acid rain area of Central China were selected as samples and solidified with cement, slag powder (GGBS), metakaolin (MK), or slag powder and metakaolin (GM), then immersed in simulated acid rain solution for 60 days. The transverse relaxation time T2 distribution and porosity of each solidified sample before and after immersion were measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and the cumulative radon concentration before and after immersion was measured by a RAD7 radon meter. The experimental results show that the nuclear magnetic resonance T2 distribution curve shifts to the left, the peak amplitude decreases, and the pores in the sample gradually shrink as the admixture content increases. The porosity and radon exhalation rate of solidified samples also appear to decrease gradually as admixture content increases; a quadratic function relationship was observed between porosity and radon exhalation rate. The pore size and effective pore volume of solidified samples increase as immersion time increases, while the radon exhalation rate increases and the pore volume gradually increases. The results of this study may provide a sound theoretical basis for the solidification treatment of uranium tailings in engineering practice.
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Funding
This research was supported by the Research Foundation of Education Bureau of Hunan Province, China (grant no. 20A422), National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 11475081 and 11875164), Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 2018JJ3427), Double First Class Construct Program of USC (grant no. 2019SLY05), Project Approved by the Hunan Province Engineering Research Center of Radioactive Control Technology in Uranium Mining and Metallurgy and Hunan Province Engineering Technology Research Center of Uranium Tailings Treatment Technology (grant no. 2018YKZX1004), Open Fund Project of the Hunan Cooperative Innovation Center for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technology and Equipment (grant no. 2019KFZ01), and Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate Set by University of South China (grant no. 203YXC006).
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Fuliang Jiang put forward the experimental scheme, guided the experiment, and guided the writing of the thesis. Zhe Wang and Guan Chen carried out the field experiments and completed the draft paper. Yong Liu guided the formulation and modification of the experimental scheme. Haonan Wu, Biao Tan, and Caiwu Luo participated in the field experiment. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.
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Jiang, F., Wang, Z., Chen, G. et al. Experimental study of pore characteristics and radon exhalation of uranium tailing solidified bodies in acidic environments. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 20111–20120 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12039-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12039-6