Study of the sorption and modelling of cesium by a Brazilian bentonite using PHREEQC

ABSTRACTTo estimate the cesium sorption by the bentonite and to obtain the isotherms, some batch-adsorption experiments are being carried out, being the Kd (retardation coefficient) calculated from these isotherms. One-dimensional flow cell was constructed to measure the bentonite permeability regarding to a cesium solution, which results will be used to evaluate the diffusion coefficient – D. It will be used the PHREEQC software to model the transport of the cesium radionuclide through this bentonite with the Kd and D data. The modelling of radionuclide transport in the Brazilian materials will contribute to evaluate the efficiency of multi-barriers system of the national repository, because it is one of its safety criteria.

Evaluation of the Retention Capability of Backfill Materials in the Presence of Cement Waste Form

ABSTRACTThe present study focused on the retention capability of the different local backfill materials and on horizontal and vertical radionuclide migration in simulated repository conditions of a saturated static humid environment, using single or combined components of the near-field. The results obtained from semi-field experiment show that no migration of cesium radionuclide was detected outside the backfill zone within the time interval of the experiment. This reflects the possible efficiency, of the backfill materials used, for the confinement of radioactivity to the disposal site. On the other hand laboratory experiments show the effect of simulated repository condition on the sorption and desorption properties of backfill materials. It is clear from the results obtained that the presence of cement waste forms in equilibrium with underground water affect the retention capability of the backfill materials. The motivation of the work was a desire to provide a basis for minimizing radioactive waste processing by improving nonradioactive engineering barriers.