• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.1041-1046
• /
• 2019

In terms of long-term safety for radioactive waste disposal, the anionic iodide (I-129) with a long half-life ($1.6{\times}10^6yr$) is of a critical importance because this radionuclide migrates in geological media with limited interactions. Various studies have been performed to retard the iodide migration. Recently, some minerals that are likely generated from waste container corrosion, have been suggested to have a considerable chemical interaction with iodide. In this study, chalcocite and mackinawite were selected as candidate minerals for underground corrosion materials, and an iodide sorption experiment were carried out. The experiment was performed under anoxic and alkaline conditions and the pH effects on the iodide sorption were investigated in the range of pH 8 to 12. The results showed that both minerals demonstrated a noticeable sorption capacity on iodide, and the distribution coefficient ($K_d$) decreased as the pH increased in the experimental condition. In addition, when the alkalinity increased higher than a pH of 12, the sorption capacity of both minerals decreased dramatically, likely due to the competition of hydroxy ions with the iodide. This result confirmed that chalcocite was an especially good sorbing media for iodide under alkaline conditions with a pH value of less than 12.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2020

Strontium (⁹⁰Sr) and nickel (⁵⁹Ni) have been considered as key radionuclides in the safety assessment of radioactive waste disposal. Through various efforts to impede the migration of radioactive nuclides underground, it has been established that some minerals generated from the corrosion of the waste containers have a positive chemical interaction with these radionuclides. Among these minerals we selected mackinawite (FeS), an iron and sulfur compound, and performed a sorption experiment for the Sr and Ni in FeS under anoxic and alkaline conditions by reflecting deep underground environments. The effects of pH on sorption were likewise investigated in the pH range of 8 ~ 12. As a result, it was found that strontium failed to exhibit a good sorption capacity in a weak alkaline range, while nickel showed a noticeably higher sorption affinity over the entire experimental pH range. Moreover, we determined that as the pH increased in the solution, the distribution coefficients (K_d) were increased for both nuclides, which reflects when an alkalinity increses, the surface of the mineral charges much negatively by detaching the hydrogen or cations on the mineral surface. Thus, it can be concluded that the cationic nuclides of Sr and Ni can attach easily to the mineral under strong alkalinity.