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Montmorillonite alteration and its influence on Sr (II) adsorption on GMZ bentonite

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Abstract

Gaomiaozi (GMZ) bentonite is the most extensively used buffer/backfill material in deep geological repositories used for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste in China. Highly alkaline ground water solutions derived from the cement dissolution may cause changes in the mineralogical composition and in the adsorption capacity of bentonite, and may affect the long-term performance of the engineering barrier system. In the present study, the alteration of montmorillonite and its influence on the adsorptive properties of GMZ bentonite were investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the mineral composition showed that the main compound of the GMZ bentonite is montmorillonite. By contrast, its hydration with a solution of KOH at 80 °C produced cementitious materials, and transformation could likely lead to kaolinisation. Thermodynamic results show that the adsorption of Sr (II) on GMZ bentonite is exothermic and follows quasi-secondary adsorption kinetics. For an initial Sr (II) concentration C0 = 100 mg/L, the maximum amount of Sr (II) adsorbed (qe) on GMZ bentonite was 9.72 mg/g. The adsorption capacity of GMZ bentonite on Sr (II) decreased gradually and as a function of the mineral transformation time in a mixture of GMZ bentonite and KOH. The Freundlich isotherm adsorption model can describe in a satisfactory manner the adsorption of Sr (II) on GMZ bentonite or the transformation of bentonite at different degrees of mineral transformations.

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Abbreviations

DGR:

Deep geological repository

GMZ:

Gaomiaozi

HDPE:

High-density polyethylene

HLW:

High-level nuclear waste

ICP–OES:

Inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry

RPM:

Revolutions per minute

tHM:

Tons of heavy metals

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Projects 42072318 and 41972282) and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, China (Project 2019JJ50763) for their financial support. The authors also thank the Financial support from National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFC1803600).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Metallogenic Prediction of Nonferrous Metals and Geological Environment Monitoring (Central South University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, People’s Republic of China

    Yun-yi Zhang, Yong He & Ke-neng Zhang

  2. School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, No. 932 South Lushan Road, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Yun-yi Zhang, Yong He & Ke-neng Zhang

  3. Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education and Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Yong He, Yong-gui Chen & Wei-min Ye

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  1. Yun-yi Zhang
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Correspondence to Yong He.

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Zhang, Yy., He, Y., Zhang, Kn. et al. Montmorillonite alteration and its influence on Sr (II) adsorption on GMZ bentonite. Environ Earth Sci 80, 791 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-10093-y

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