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Groundwater Colloid Properties and their Potential Influence on Radionuclide Transport

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2012

C. Degueldre
C. Degueldre*
Affiliation:
Paul Scherrer Institute, LWV & PE, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland. Also, Centre des Sciences Naturelles de l'Environnement, University of Geneva.
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Abstract

Colloid facilitated transport is still an issue in radioactive waste management. Sophisticated phenomenological transport models are available, but progress is required to fully understand mechanisms and parameters. This study lead in this direction. Investigation of the marl groundwater colloids in steady-state conditions at Wellenberg, shows that their concentration is independent of the water flow rate. Their generation is caused by the re-suspension of the rock clay fraction only. The re-suspension process is presently being studied under flow transient conditions. Extension of our measurements to other safety relevant systems as well as a literature survey show that the colloid concentration under steady-state conditions is correlated to the concentration of alkali elements and earth alkali elements. The higher their respective concentration, the fewer colloids are occurring. Considerations on colloid contamination models are also included. The paper emphasises various colloid transport mechanisms including colloid generation from the irreversibly contaminated aquifer.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 465: Symposium II – Scienfific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XX , 1996 , 835
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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References

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