Insights into transport velocity of colloid-associated plutonium relative to tritium in porous media.

ABSTRACT: Although faster transport velocities of colloid-associated actinides, bacteria, and virus than nonreactive solutes have been observed in laboratory and field experiments, some questions still need to be answered. To accurately determine the relative velocity (UPu/UT) of 239Pu and tritium representative of the bulk water, a conceptual model of electrostatic interactions coupled with the parabolic water velocity profile in pore channels is developed. Based on the expression for UPu/UT derived from this model, we study the effects of water flow rates and ionic strengths on the UPu/UT. Also, the velocity relationship between Pu, tritium and Sr2+ is explored. The results show that UPu/UT increased fairly linearly with decreasing water flow rates; UPu/UT declined approximately exponentially with

SUBMITTER: Xie J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4052758 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature