• journal_title：Mineralogical Magazine
• Contributor：G. M. N. Baston ; M. M. Cowper ; T. A. Marshall
• Publisher：Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland
• Date：2012-12-01
• Format：text/html
• Language：en
• Identifier：10.1180/minmag.2012.076.8.54
• journal_abbrev：Mineralogical Magazine
• issn：0026-461X
• volume：76
• issue：8
• firstpage：3411
• section：Radionuclide transport

Samples of artificially aged Nirex reference vault backfill (NRVB) were prepared by progressive leaching with deionized water, after which some of the samples underwent hydrothermal treatment. Compared to unaltered NRVB, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) provided evidence for the ageing resulting in alteration of the mineralogy, in particular the absence of portlandite was observed. The specific surface area of NRVB initially increased due to leaching, but then decreased after further leaching.

Sorption distribution ratios (m>Rm>_D values) of uranium(VI), neptunium(IV), tin and zirconium onto aged NRVB samples were measured using the batch sorption technique. For all four elements, there was little difference between m>Rm>_D values for aged NRVB and those for untreated material. The most probable explanation for these findings is that even though the ageing treatments altered the NRVB mineralogy, calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) phases are responsible for most of the radionuclide uptake and their transformation to more crystalline forms has little effect on the bulk sorption capacity of the aged material.