Experiments were conducted to evaluate the healing of drying cracks in air-dried bentonite-sand blocks after hydration and swelling in groundwater,providing justifications to simplify the protection of blocks prior to...Experiments were conducted to evaluate the healing of drying cracks in air-dried bentonite-sand blocks after hydration and swelling in groundwater,providing justifications to simplify the protection of blocks prior to installation in a high-level radioactive waste repository.Synthetic groundwater was prepared to represent the geochemistry of Beishan groundwater,and was used to hydrate the blocks during the swelling pressure and swelling strain measurements,as Beishan is the most promising site for China's repository.Healing of the surface cracks was recorded by photography,and healing of the internal cracks was visualized by CT images and hydraulic conductivity of air-dried blocks.The results indicate that the maximum swelling pressure and swelling strain are primarily affected by the geochemistry of Beishan groundwater,but not affected by the drying cracks.The maximum swelling pressure and swelling strain of air-dried blocks are comparable to or even higher than the pressure and strain of fresh blocks.The maximum swelling pressure measured in strong(i.e.high ion strength)Beishan groundwater was 44%of the pressure measured in deionized(DI)water,and the maximum swelling strain was reduced to 23%of the strain measured in DI water.Nevertheless,the remained swelling of the blocks hydrated in strong Beishan groundwater was sufficient to heal the surface and internal drying cracks,as demonstrated by the pictures of surface cracks and CT images.The hydraulic conductivity of the air-dried block permeated with strong groundwater was comparable(3.7×higher)to the hydraulic conductivity of the fresh block,indicating the self-healing of drying cracks after hydration and swelling in groundwater.A simplified method of protecting the block with plastic wraps before installation is recommended,since the remained swelling of the block hydrated in Beishan groundwater is sufficient to heal the drying cracks.展开更多
To understand the self-healing property of an engineered barrier for radioactive waste disposal,the hydraulic conductivity of compacted bentoniteesand mixtures saturated with artificial seawater(SW)before and after ga...To understand the self-healing property of an engineered barrier for radioactive waste disposal,the hydraulic conductivity of compacted bentoniteesand mixtures saturated with artificial seawater(SW)before and after gas migration was examined.Na-and Ca-bentonites were mixed with fine sand at a ratio of 70%bentonite in dry weight.Two aspects were considered during the experiment:the hydraulic conductivity of the specimen that was resaturated after gas migration and the distribution of water content immediately after gas migration to study gas migration pathways.The gas migrated through the entire cross-section of the specimen,and gas breakthrough occurred in the equilibrium swelling pressure range approximately.Subsequently,the gas flow rate reached a sufficient large value when the gas pressure was approximately twice the equilibrium axial pressure(the sum of swelling and confining pressures),which excluded the back pressure.Although the gas migration pathway was not visible when the specimen was observed immediately after gas migration,the water content distribution showed that several parts of the specimen with lower water content were connected in the direction of gas migration.After resaturation,the change in permeability was within a limited rangedtwo to three times larger than that before gas migration for each type of bentonite in SW.This slight change suggests that gas migration creates a pore structure that cannot be sealed via crystalline swelling of montmorillonite in SW,even if highly compacted bentonite is used under a constant-volume condition.展开更多
Recently,the Institute for Radiological protection and Nuclear Safety(IRSN)has launched VSEAL(Vertical SEALing)project to investigate the impact of gas migration on the long-term performance of bentonite based vertica...Recently,the Institute for Radiological protection and Nuclear Safety(IRSN)has launched VSEAL(Vertical SEALing)project to investigate the impact of gas migration on the long-term performance of bentonite based vertical sealing systems(VSS).The first VSEAL in situ test was emplaced in IRSN’s Underground Research Laboratory(URL)in Tournemire(France)in 2019 and was equipped with 76 wired and wireless sensors.The test is still in progress,but the collected set of data provides already valuable information of the hydro-mechanical behavior of VSS during hydration.The swelling core consists of a mixture of highdensity pellets and powder of MX80 bentonite in a ratio of 80/20(in dry mass).An innovative method was adopted to drill a 1-m diameter and w10-m deep shaft in order to minimize the rock perturbation at the sidewalls.Because a specific protocol was adopted to install the bentonite mixture together with a careful characterization of the core during construction,VSEAL 1 constitutes the unique in situ sealing test with a well-known initial structural distribution of the pellets and the powder.Some heterogeneities occurred within the experiment during the installation process:a damaged zone developed around the shaft walls due to the interruption of the installation operations caused by COVID19 lockdown in France;a technological gap with a variable thickness between the last pellets layer and the top confining lid and a heterogeneous distribution of the bentonite powder at some layers inducing large inter pellets voids close to the bentonite-rock interface.Artificially injected water volume,relative humidity,water content and swelling pressure in both radial and axial directions were monitored.Comparison of the results showed that the presence of installation-induced heterogeneities led to the generation of preferential flow paths that influenced the swelling pressure evolution at radial and axial directions.展开更多
The saturation of the compacted bentonite buffer in the deep geological repository can cause bentonite swelling,intrusion into rock fractures,and erosion.Inevitably,erosion and subsequent bentonite mass loss due to gr...The saturation of the compacted bentonite buffer in the deep geological repository can cause bentonite swelling,intrusion into rock fractures,and erosion.Inevitably,erosion and subsequent bentonite mass loss due to groundwater inflow can aggravate the overall integrity of the engineered barrier system.Therefore,the coupled hydro-mechanical interaction between the buffer and rock during groundwater inflow and bentonite intrusion should be evaluated to guarantee the long-term safety of deep geological disposal.This study investigated the effect of bentonite erosion and intrusion on the elastic wave propagation characteristics in jointed rocks using a quasi-static resonant column test.Jointed rock specimens with different joint conditions(i.e.joint surface saturation and bentonite filling)were prepared using granite rock discs sampled from the Korea Underground Research Tunnel(KURT)and Gyeongju bentonite.The long-wavelength longitudinal and shear wave velocities were measured under different normal stress levels.A Hertzian-type power model was used to fit the wave velocities,and the relationship between the two fitted parameters provided the trend of joint conditions.Numerical simulations using three-dimensional distinct element code(3DEC)were conducted to better understand how the long-wavelength wave propagates through wet bentonite-filled rock joints.展开更多
Bentonite,consisting of clay minerals of the montmorillonite group,has been widely used as an adsorbent and backfill material in nuclear waste disposal and groundwater remediation.It is challenging to use bentonite as...Bentonite,consisting of clay minerals of the montmorillonite group,has been widely used as an adsorbent and backfill material in nuclear waste disposal and groundwater remediation.It is challenging to use bentonite as a filling material in cold regions since bentonite is highly sensitive to thermal environmental changes,during which its bulk volume and microstructure change significantly.In this study,a series of one-dimensional and three-dimensional freeze-thaw tests were carried out within a closed system to investigate the influencing factors of the deformation of bentonite under freeze-thaw cycles.Results show that the initial soil water content greatly impacts bentonite's deformation during freeze-thaw cycles.For an initial higher degree of saturation(Sr),the expansion caused by the formation of ice lenses has a greater impact than the shrinkage induced by dehydration,ice-cementation,and so on.Conversely,bentonite tends to shrink at a lower degree of saturation during freezing.And the critical degree of saturation that determines bentonite's behavior of frost heave or frost shrinkage seems to be roughly 0.8.As the number of freeze-thaw cycles rises,initially uncompacted bentonite clay becomes more compacted,and initially compacted bentonite clay remains unchanged.展开更多
Iron-pillared bentonite(FB)was prepared by Fe(III)modified bentonite,and then the composites(FB-OS)were prepared by iron-pillared bentonite and oyster shell powder.The composites were characterized by FTIR,SEM,TGA,and...Iron-pillared bentonite(FB)was prepared by Fe(III)modified bentonite,and then the composites(FB-OS)were prepared by iron-pillared bentonite and oyster shell powder.The composites were characterized by FTIR,SEM,TGA,and EDS,and the phosphorus removal test was carried out.The results showed that FB-OS contained a large amount of CaO.Its structure was compact,but there were gaps in it.The maximum bending stress and compressive strength were 43.7 N and 0.927 MPa,respectively.The phosphorus removal test showed that the phosphorus removal rate of FB-OS was more than 90%,and measured the maximum adsorption capacity was 48.31 mg/g.A large amount of spherical products were produced on the surface and inside of FB-OS after phos-phorus removal,it was speculated that spherical products were amorphous calcium phosphate in the paper.Ana-lysis indicated that there was chemical adsorption during phosphorus removal.The kinetic equation of phosphorus adsorption by FB-OS was qt=10:193t/1+2:574t (R^(2)=0.995).The adsorption rate was mainly controlled by outerfilm diffusion and intraparticle diffusion.展开更多
In the French deep geological disposal for radioactive wastes,compacted bentonite/claystone mixtures have been considered as possible sealing materials.After emplacement in place,such mixtures are hydrated by the site...In the French deep geological disposal for radioactive wastes,compacted bentonite/claystone mixtures have been considered as possible sealing materials.After emplacement in place,such mixtures are hydrated by the site solution as well as the cement solution produced by the degradation of concrete.In this study,the effects of synthetic site solution and cement solution on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of compacted mixtures of claystone and two types of bentonites(MX80 Na-bentonite and Sardinia Cabentonite)were investigated by carrying out a series of swelling pressure,hydraulic conductivity and mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests.It was found that for the MX80 bentonite/claystone mixture hydrated with synthetic site solution,the swelling capacity was reduced compared to the case with deionised water owing to the transformation of Na-montmorillonite to multi-cation dominant montmorillonite by cation exchanges.For the Sardinia bentonite/claystone mixture,the similar increasing rate of swelling pressure was observed during the crystalline swelling process for different solutions,suggesting insignificant cation exchanges.Additionally,the cations in the synthetic site solution could reduce the thickness of diffuse double layer and the osmotic swelling for both MX80 bentonite/claystone and Sardinia bentonite/claystone mixtures.The large-pore volume increased consequently and enhanced water flow.In the cement solution,the hydroxide could also dissolve the montmorillonite,reducing the swelling pressure,and increase the large-pore volume,facilitating the water flow.Furthermore,the decrease of swelling pressure and the increase of hydraulic conductivity were more significant in the case of low dry density because of more intensive interaction between montmorillonite and hydroxide due to the high permeability.展开更多
The bentonite barrier of underground repositories for high-level radioactive waste will be hydrated by the groundwater while it is subjected to high temperatures due to the radioactive decay of the wastes. These chang...The bentonite barrier of underground repositories for high-level radioactive waste will be hydrated by the groundwater while it is subjected to high temperatures due to the radioactive decay of the wastes. These changes of temperature affect the hydraulic and mechanical responses of bentonite, which has important effects on design and performance of repositories. The temperature influence on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of bentonite was studied in this paper by experiments, which were carried out with the Spanish FEBEX bentonite compacted at dry densities expected in the' repository (from 1.5 to 1.8 Mg/m^3). The dependence of the swelling strains of bentonite on the temperature has been measured from 30℃ to 90 ℃. At high temperatures the swelling capacity of clay slightly decreases. Also, a clear decrease of swelling pressure as a function of temperature was observed for the same dry densities. Nevertheless, the deformation of bentonite is more dependent on the stress than the temperature. An increase in the permeability of water saturated bentonite with temperature has also been detected. The water retention curves of bentonite compacted at different dry densities were determined under isochoric conditions and in the range of temperatures from 20 ℃ to 120℃. For a given density and water content, the suction decreases as the temperature increases at a rate, which is larger than the one predicted on the basis of water surface tension changing with temperature. Mechanisms related to the physico-chemical interactions that take place at microscopic level, in particular the transfer of interlayer water to the macropores triggered by temperature, seem to explain qualitatively the experimental observations.展开更多
The adsorption of the bentonite toward Ni(II) from aqueous solution was studied to obtain optimum conditions,equilibrium model,thermodynamic and kinetic parameters.Statistical method was used to evaluate maximum amoun...The adsorption of the bentonite toward Ni(II) from aqueous solution was studied to obtain optimum conditions,equilibrium model,thermodynamic and kinetic parameters.Statistical method was used to evaluate maximum amount of adsorbed Ni(II).In this work,p H of solution during stirring,contact time,initial Ni(II) concentration,particle size of bentonite and amount of bentonite were considered as effective parameters which should be examined.The increase of temperature has negative effect on the Ni(II) adsorption.The equilibrium data were correlated well with Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models the correlation coefficients of which are(R^2) 0.994 and 0.971,respectively.This model indicates heterogeneous and chemical absorption or ion exchange process.The values of thermodynamic parameters such as ΔH°,ΔS° and ΔG° of nickel adsorption reveal that it is a spontaneous,exothermic and associative process.The experimental data fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic very well with correlation coefficient(R^2) more than 0.995.展开更多
Gaomiaozi(GMZ)bentonite is a potential buffer/backfill material for a deep geological disposal of highlevel radioactive waste.It has a wide pore size distribution(PSD)with sizes ranging from several nanometers to more...Gaomiaozi(GMZ)bentonite is a potential buffer/backfill material for a deep geological disposal of highlevel radioactive waste.It has a wide pore size distribution(PSD)with sizes ranging from several nanometers to more than one hundred microns.Thus,properly characterizing the pore structures of GMZ bentonite is a challenging issue.In this study,pressure-controlled porosimetry(PCP),ratecontrolled porosimetry(RCP),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)were used to investigate the PSD of GMZ bentonite,The results indicate that each method has its limitation,and a combined use of PCP and RCP is suitable to obtain the full-scale PSD of GMZ bentonite.Moreover,we also compared the full-scale PSD with nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)result.It is found that there is no significant difference in the range of PSD characterization between NMR and mercury intrusion method(PCP and RCP).However,in a ce rtain range,the detection accuracy of NMR is higher than that of mercury injection method.Finally,permeability prediction based on PCP and SEM data was conducted,and both of the two methods were found to be able to predict the permeability.The combined method is effective to obtain the full-scale PSD of GMZ bentonite,which is the key to estimation of the sealing ability of bentonite buffer.展开更多
To further elucidate interaction of nitroaromatic compounds with mineral surface, the sorption of m-dinitrobenzene (m-DNB) and nitrobenzene to original bentonite in aqueous solution containing different electrolytes...To further elucidate interaction of nitroaromatic compounds with mineral surface, the sorption of m-dinitrobenzene (m-DNB) and nitrobenzene to original bentonite in aqueous solution containing different electrolytes (i.e., KCl, NH4Cl, CaCl2 and Tetramethylammonium bromide (TMAB)) was studied. The sorption of m-DNB was greatly enhanced with the presence of KCl and NH4Cl, while little influence was observed with CaCl2 and TMAB, following the order of KCl 〉 NH4Cl 〉〉 TMAB, CaCl2, or DI water. For nitrobenzene, sorption enhancement only occurred at high nitrobenzene concentrations in the presence of KCl, and the solute equilibrium concentration at inflexion point was lowered with increasing KCl concentration. These sorption enhancements were significantly promoted with the increase of electrolyte concentration. The salting-out effect is insufficient to account for the sorption enhancement by original bentonite with increasing KCI or NH4Cl concentration. X-ray diffraction patterns of bentonite suspensions indicated that the sorption enhancement of m-DNB was attributed to the intercalation of K^+ or NH4^+ into bentonite interlayer and then dehydration with m-DNB to form inner-sphere complexes, which caused previously expanded bentonite interlayers to collapse in aqueous suspension, thus further enhanced the interaction of phenyl with siloxane surface. In comparison, the sorption enhancement of NB is attributed to the formation of outer-sphere complexes with K^+ at high solute-loadings (〉 20(0-400 mg/kg). The sorption of m-DNB to initially modified TMA^+-bentonite and K^+-bentonite was almost the same as respective sorption to original bentonite in solution containing TMA^+ and K^+.展开更多
Hybrids of intercalative nitrile-butadiene rubber/organomodified bentonite (NBR/OMB) were prepared by thelatex intercalation technique. Investigation of their mechanical properties and the microstructore of NBR/OMB sh...Hybrids of intercalative nitrile-butadiene rubber/organomodified bentonite (NBR/OMB) were prepared by thelatex intercalation technique. Investigation of their mechanical properties and the microstructore of NBR/OMB showed thatthe organomodified bentonite is an effective toughener for NBR. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) and X-rnydiffraction (XRD) tests showed that the NBR macromolecule could be intercalated into the galleries of bentonite.Incorporation of NBR/OMB hybrids as tougheners into poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) results in a substantial increase in theimpact strength of PVC, but little decrease in its tensile strength and flexural strength, compared to the unmodified PVC.展开更多
Ni supported on bentonite was prepared by the impregnation method with different nickel contents, applied to the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline in a fixed-bed reactor, and it was characterized by X-ray diffr...Ni supported on bentonite was prepared by the impregnation method with different nickel contents, applied to the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline in a fixed-bed reactor, and it was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), H_2-temperature programmed reduction(H_2-TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry(XPS). The results showed that Ni/bentonite catalyst with 20 wt% nickel content provided a higher conversion of nitrobenzene and selectivity of aniline compared to other catalysts. Ni O was the precursor of the active component of the catalyst, and the small crystallite size as well as the highly dispersed Ni O on the Ni/bentonite-20 catalyst, contributed to the catalytic performance. The hydrogenation of nitrobenzene was carried out at 300 °C with a H_2 gaseous hourly space velocity of 4800 ml·(g cat)^(-1)·h^(-1)and a nitrobenzene liquid hourly space velocity of4.8 ml·(g cat)^(-1)·h^(-1)over Ni/bentonite-20. A 95.7% nitrobenzene conversion and 98.8% aniline selectivity were obtained. While the nitrobenzene liquid hourly space velocity was 4.8 ml·(g cat)^(-1)·h^(-1), the yield of aniline was more than 95.0% during a 10-hour reaction.展开更多
A 20 wt% Ni/bentonite catalyst was prepared by a solution combustion synthesis (SCS), which exhibited higher activity for the CO_2methanation than that of an impregnation method (IPM), and the catalyst prepared by SCS...A 20 wt% Ni/bentonite catalyst was prepared by a solution combustion synthesis (SCS), which exhibited higher activity for the CO_2methanation than that of an impregnation method (IPM), and the catalyst prepared by SCS showed a CO_2 conversion of 85% and a CH4selectivity of 100% at 300 °C, atmospheric pressure, and 3600 ml·(g cat)-1·h-1, and the catalyst exhibited stable within a 110-h reaction. The results showed higher me- tallic Ni dispersion, smaller Ni particle size, larger specific surface area and lower reduction temperature in the Ni/ bentonite prepared by SCS than that of IPM. And the Ni/bentonite prepared by the SCS moderated the interaction between NiO and bentonite.展开更多
Ti-pillared bentonite has been successfully prepared using a modified method that can induce the transformation of TiO2 pillar from amorphous to anatase phase at a low temperature (150℃). The value of d0.01 =1.94 n...Ti-pillared bentonite has been successfully prepared using a modified method that can induce the transformation of TiO2 pillar from amorphous to anatase phase at a low temperature (150℃). The value of d0.01 =1.94 nm obtained by Ti-pillared bentonite is larger than that of corresponding raw clay (1.56 nm). Due to large numbers of Ti-pillars formed, the Ti-pillared bentonite shows an excellent ability in adsorbing Rhodamine B (RB). The photocatalytic activity and kinetic equation are investigated by decomposing RB solution under the UV irradiation. It is found that the Ti- pillared bentonite shows super photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RB solution compared with the untreated bentonite and pure TiO2, and the kinetic equation of the degradation of RB solution is a 1.5-oder equation.展开更多
Kozeny-Carman(KC) equation is a well-known relation between hydraulic conductivity and pore properties in porous material. The applications of KC equation to predicting saturated hydraulic conductivities of sands and ...Kozeny-Carman(KC) equation is a well-known relation between hydraulic conductivity and pore properties in porous material. The applications of KC equation to predicting saturated hydraulic conductivities of sands and non-expansive soils are well documented. However, KC equation is incapable of predicting saturated hydraulic conductivity of expansive soil(e.g. bentonite) well. Based on a new dualpore system, this study modified KC equation for improving the prediction of saturated hydraulic conductivities of bentonites. In this study, an assumption that inter-layer space(micropore) has limited effect on fluid flow performance of compacted bentonite was adopted. The critical parameters including total porosity and total tortuosity in conventional KC equation were replaced by macroporosity and tortuosity of macropore, respectively. Macroporosity and microporosity were calculated by basal spacing of compacted bentonite, which was estimated by assuming that specific surface area is changeable during saturation process. A comprehensive comparison of bentonite’s saturated hydraulic conductivity predictions, including modified KC equation proposed in this study, conventional KC equation, and prediction method based on diffuse double layer(DDL) theory, was carried out. It was found that the predicted saturated hydraulic conductivity of bentonites calculated using modified KC equation fitted the experimental data better than others to a certain extent.展开更多
Electrostatic self-assembly method (ESAM) was used to prepare bentonite supported-nano titanium dioxide photocatalysts. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spect...Electrostatic self-assembly method (ESAM) was used to prepare bentonite supported-nano titanium dioxide photocatalysts. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Methyl orange was used to estimate the photocatalytic activity of the materials. The effects of the calcination temperature and silane dosage on the photocatalytic activity of the samples were investigated. The experimental results show that the bentonite facilitates the formation of anatase and restrains the transformation of anatase to rutile. Part of nano-size TiO2 particles insert into the galleries of bentonite. The photocatalysts exhibit a synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalysis on methyl orange. Photocatalysts prepared by ESAM method exhibit higher photocatalytic activity and better recycle ability than those of the traditional method.展开更多
The characteristics of diffusion are essential to the transport of radionuclides through buffer/backfill materials, such as bentonite, which are commonly found in waste repositories. This study used through-diffusion ...The characteristics of diffusion are essential to the transport of radionuclides through buffer/backfill materials, such as bentonite, which are commonly found in waste repositories. This study used through-diffusion techniques to investigate the diffusion behavior of HTO and ^(99)TcO_4^- on GMZ bentonite of various densities. Diffusion rates were calculated by measuring the diffusion coefficients(De, Da), plotting breakthrough curves and interpreting experiment data. The apparent and effective diffusion coefficients of HTO ranged from(1.68 ± 0.40) 9 × 10^(-11) to(2.80 ± 0.62) 9 × 10^(-11) m^2/s and from(4.61 ±1.28) 9 × 10^(-12) to (16.2 ± 2.50) 9 × 10^(-12) m^2/s, respectively.The apparent and effective diffusion coefficients of^(99)TcO_4^-ranged from(5.26 ± 0.16) 9 × 10^-12to(7.78 ± 0.43) 9× 10^-12m^2/s and from(1.49 ± 0.002) 9 × 10^(-12) to(4.16 ±0.07) 9 × 10^(-12) m^2/s, respectively. The distribution coefficients of HTO and^(99)TcO_4^-ranged from(0.70 ± 0.12) 9× 10^(-2) to(1.36 ± 0.53) 9 × 10^(-2) mL/g and from(1.12 ±0.06) 9 × 10^(-2) to(5.79 ± 2.22) 9 × 10^(-2) mL/g, respectively.The Deand Kdvalues were shown to decrease with an increase in the bulk dry density of compacted bentonite. Our results show that HTO and ^(99)Tc could be considered nonsorbent radionuclides. The data obtained in this studyprovide a valuable reference for the safety assessment of waste repositories.展开更多
The objective of this work is to determine changes of surface properties of a bentonite after acid activation, using hydrochloric acid solutions (HCl) at room temperature. XRD, FX, FTIR, MEB, and BET analyses of the s...The objective of this work is to determine changes of surface properties of a bentonite after acid activation, using hydrochloric acid solutions (HCl) at room temperature. XRD, FX, FTIR, MEB, and BET analyses of the samples have been carried out to examine the structure of bentonite before and after acid activation. It is found that the raw bentonite is composed of dioctahedral montmorillonite with predominant quantity and certain amounts of quartz, albite and illite, etc. It has an cation exchange capacity (CEC) of 74.32 meq/g which allows it to be characterized as typical sodium bentonite. The changes, at low acid concentrations, are the result from from cation exchange (exchangeable cations with H+ ions). Differences of surface area at high acid concentrations (0.25 - 0.4 M) were caused by structural changes and partial decomposition of the samples. Data of surface area measurements have showed that with increase of concentration of hydrochloric acid, the surface area increased. The maximum value (837.11 m2/g) was reached by the sample activated with 0.4 M HCl. By against, activation with higher concentration (0.6 M) caused a decrease in the surface area.展开更多
Pre-compacted elements (disks, tutus) of bentonite/sand mixture are candidate materials for sealing plugs of radioactive waste disposal. Choice of this material is mainly based on its swelling capacity allowing all ...Pre-compacted elements (disks, tutus) of bentonite/sand mixture are candidate materials for sealing plugs of radioactive waste disposal. Choice of this material is mainly based on its swelling capacity allowing all gaps in the system to be sealed, and on its low permeability. When emplaced in the gallery, these elements will start to absorb water from the host rock and swell. Thereby, a swelling pressure will develop in the radial direction against the host rock and in the axial direction against the support structure. In this work, the swelling pressure of a small scale compacted disk of bentonite and sand was experimentally studied in both radial and axial directions. Different swelling kinetics were identified for different dry densities and along different directions. As a rule, the swelling pressure starts increasing quickly, reaches a peak value, decreases a little and finally stabilises. For some dry densities, higher peaks were observed in the radial direction than in the axial direction. The presence of peaks is related to the microstructure change and to the collapse of macro- pores. In parallel to the mechanical tests, microstructure investigation at the sample scale was conducted using microfocus X-ray computed tomography (BCT). Image observation showed a denser structure in the centre and a looser one in the border, which was also confirmed by image analysis. This structure heterogeneity in the radial direction and the occurrence of macro-pores close to the radial boundary of the sample can explain the large peaks observed in the radial swelling pressure evolution. Another interesting result is the higher anisotropy found at lower bentonite dry densities, which was also analysed by means ofμCT observation of a sample at low bentonite dry density after the end of test. It was found that the macro-pores, especially those between sand grains, were not filled by swelled bentonite, which preserved the anisotropic microstructure caused by uniaxial compression due to the absence of microstructure collapse.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41972265)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.lzujbky-2021-57)+1 种基金the Gansu Province Science Foundation(Grant No.20JR10RA492)Special thanks to the Environmental Research and Education Foundation for supporting the first author(Y.Tan)through a fellowship for his study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
文摘Experiments were conducted to evaluate the healing of drying cracks in air-dried bentonite-sand blocks after hydration and swelling in groundwater,providing justifications to simplify the protection of blocks prior to installation in a high-level radioactive waste repository.Synthetic groundwater was prepared to represent the geochemistry of Beishan groundwater,and was used to hydrate the blocks during the swelling pressure and swelling strain measurements,as Beishan is the most promising site for China's repository.Healing of the surface cracks was recorded by photography,and healing of the internal cracks was visualized by CT images and hydraulic conductivity of air-dried blocks.The results indicate that the maximum swelling pressure and swelling strain are primarily affected by the geochemistry of Beishan groundwater,but not affected by the drying cracks.The maximum swelling pressure and swelling strain of air-dried blocks are comparable to or even higher than the pressure and strain of fresh blocks.The maximum swelling pressure measured in strong(i.e.high ion strength)Beishan groundwater was 44%of the pressure measured in deionized(DI)water,and the maximum swelling strain was reduced to 23%of the strain measured in DI water.Nevertheless,the remained swelling of the blocks hydrated in strong Beishan groundwater was sufficient to heal the surface and internal drying cracks,as demonstrated by the pictures of surface cracks and CT images.The hydraulic conductivity of the air-dried block permeated with strong groundwater was comparable(3.7×higher)to the hydraulic conductivity of the fresh block,indicating the self-healing of drying cracks after hydration and swelling in groundwater.A simplified method of protecting the block with plastic wraps before installation is recommended,since the remained swelling of the block hydrated in Beishan groundwater is sufficient to heal the drying cracks.
文摘To understand the self-healing property of an engineered barrier for radioactive waste disposal,the hydraulic conductivity of compacted bentoniteesand mixtures saturated with artificial seawater(SW)before and after gas migration was examined.Na-and Ca-bentonites were mixed with fine sand at a ratio of 70%bentonite in dry weight.Two aspects were considered during the experiment:the hydraulic conductivity of the specimen that was resaturated after gas migration and the distribution of water content immediately after gas migration to study gas migration pathways.The gas migrated through the entire cross-section of the specimen,and gas breakthrough occurred in the equilibrium swelling pressure range approximately.Subsequently,the gas flow rate reached a sufficient large value when the gas pressure was approximately twice the equilibrium axial pressure(the sum of swelling and confining pressures),which excluded the back pressure.Although the gas migration pathway was not visible when the specimen was observed immediately after gas migration,the water content distribution showed that several parts of the specimen with lower water content were connected in the direction of gas migration.After resaturation,the change in permeability was within a limited rangedtwo to three times larger than that before gas migration for each type of bentonite in SW.This slight change suggests that gas migration creates a pore structure that cannot be sealed via crystalline swelling of montmorillonite in SW,even if highly compacted bentonite is used under a constant-volume condition.
文摘Recently,the Institute for Radiological protection and Nuclear Safety(IRSN)has launched VSEAL(Vertical SEALing)project to investigate the impact of gas migration on the long-term performance of bentonite based vertical sealing systems(VSS).The first VSEAL in situ test was emplaced in IRSN’s Underground Research Laboratory(URL)in Tournemire(France)in 2019 and was equipped with 76 wired and wireless sensors.The test is still in progress,but the collected set of data provides already valuable information of the hydro-mechanical behavior of VSS during hydration.The swelling core consists of a mixture of highdensity pellets and powder of MX80 bentonite in a ratio of 80/20(in dry mass).An innovative method was adopted to drill a 1-m diameter and w10-m deep shaft in order to minimize the rock perturbation at the sidewalls.Because a specific protocol was adopted to install the bentonite mixture together with a careful characterization of the core during construction,VSEAL 1 constitutes the unique in situ sealing test with a well-known initial structural distribution of the pellets and the powder.Some heterogeneities occurred within the experiment during the installation process:a damaged zone developed around the shaft walls due to the interruption of the installation operations caused by COVID19 lockdown in France;a technological gap with a variable thickness between the last pellets layer and the top confining lid and a heterogeneous distribution of the bentonite powder at some layers inducing large inter pellets voids close to the bentonite-rock interface.Artificially injected water volume,relative humidity,water content and swelling pressure in both radial and axial directions were monitored.Comparison of the results showed that the presence of installation-induced heterogeneities led to the generation of preferential flow paths that influenced the swelling pressure evolution at radial and axial directions.
基金funding support from the Nuclear Research and Development Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea(Grant Nos.2021M2E1A1085193 and 2020M2C9A1062949).
文摘The saturation of the compacted bentonite buffer in the deep geological repository can cause bentonite swelling,intrusion into rock fractures,and erosion.Inevitably,erosion and subsequent bentonite mass loss due to groundwater inflow can aggravate the overall integrity of the engineered barrier system.Therefore,the coupled hydro-mechanical interaction between the buffer and rock during groundwater inflow and bentonite intrusion should be evaluated to guarantee the long-term safety of deep geological disposal.This study investigated the effect of bentonite erosion and intrusion on the elastic wave propagation characteristics in jointed rocks using a quasi-static resonant column test.Jointed rock specimens with different joint conditions(i.e.joint surface saturation and bentonite filling)were prepared using granite rock discs sampled from the Korea Underground Research Tunnel(KURT)and Gyeongju bentonite.The long-wavelength longitudinal and shear wave velocities were measured under different normal stress levels.A Hertzian-type power model was used to fit the wave velocities,and the relationship between the two fitted parameters provided the trend of joint conditions.Numerical simulations using three-dimensional distinct element code(3DEC)were conducted to better understand how the long-wavelength wave propagates through wet bentonite-filled rock joints.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.42072316,51979002).
文摘Bentonite,consisting of clay minerals of the montmorillonite group,has been widely used as an adsorbent and backfill material in nuclear waste disposal and groundwater remediation.It is challenging to use bentonite as a filling material in cold regions since bentonite is highly sensitive to thermal environmental changes,during which its bulk volume and microstructure change significantly.In this study,a series of one-dimensional and three-dimensional freeze-thaw tests were carried out within a closed system to investigate the influencing factors of the deformation of bentonite under freeze-thaw cycles.Results show that the initial soil water content greatly impacts bentonite's deformation during freeze-thaw cycles.For an initial higher degree of saturation(Sr),the expansion caused by the formation of ice lenses has a greater impact than the shrinkage induced by dehydration,ice-cementation,and so on.Conversely,bentonite tends to shrink at a lower degree of saturation during freezing.And the critical degree of saturation that determines bentonite's behavior of frost heave or frost shrinkage seems to be roughly 0.8.As the number of freeze-thaw cycles rises,initially uncompacted bentonite clay becomes more compacted,and initially compacted bentonite clay remains unchanged.
基金supported by the Project of Guangdong Academy of Building Research Group Co.,Ltd.,China(No.0100RDY2022D0000036).
文摘Iron-pillared bentonite(FB)was prepared by Fe(III)modified bentonite,and then the composites(FB-OS)were prepared by iron-pillared bentonite and oyster shell powder.The composites were characterized by FTIR,SEM,TGA,and EDS,and the phosphorus removal test was carried out.The results showed that FB-OS contained a large amount of CaO.Its structure was compact,but there were gaps in it.The maximum bending stress and compressive strength were 43.7 N and 0.927 MPa,respectively.The phosphorus removal test showed that the phosphorus removal rate of FB-OS was more than 90%,and measured the maximum adsorption capacity was 48.31 mg/g.A large amount of spherical products were produced on the surface and inside of FB-OS after phos-phorus removal,it was speculated that spherical products were amorphous calcium phosphate in the paper.Ana-lysis indicated that there was chemical adsorption during phosphorus removal.The kinetic equation of phosphorus adsorption by FB-OS was qt=10:193t/1+2:574t (R^(2)=0.995).The adsorption rate was mainly controlled by outerfilm diffusion and intraparticle diffusion.
基金supported by Ecole des Ponts Paris Tech and the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency(Andra)China Scholarship Council for the grant scholarship。
文摘In the French deep geological disposal for radioactive wastes,compacted bentonite/claystone mixtures have been considered as possible sealing materials.After emplacement in place,such mixtures are hydrated by the site solution as well as the cement solution produced by the degradation of concrete.In this study,the effects of synthetic site solution and cement solution on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of compacted mixtures of claystone and two types of bentonites(MX80 Na-bentonite and Sardinia Cabentonite)were investigated by carrying out a series of swelling pressure,hydraulic conductivity and mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests.It was found that for the MX80 bentonite/claystone mixture hydrated with synthetic site solution,the swelling capacity was reduced compared to the case with deionised water owing to the transformation of Na-montmorillonite to multi-cation dominant montmorillonite by cation exchanges.For the Sardinia bentonite/claystone mixture,the similar increasing rate of swelling pressure was observed during the crystalline swelling process for different solutions,suggesting insignificant cation exchanges.Additionally,the cations in the synthetic site solution could reduce the thickness of diffuse double layer and the osmotic swelling for both MX80 bentonite/claystone and Sardinia bentonite/claystone mixtures.The large-pore volume increased consequently and enhanced water flow.In the cement solution,the hydroxide could also dissolve the montmorillonite,reducing the swelling pressure,and increase the large-pore volume,facilitating the water flow.Furthermore,the decrease of swelling pressure and the increase of hydraulic conductivity were more significant in the case of low dry density because of more intensive interaction between montmorillonite and hydroxide due to the high permeability.
基金Supported by ENRESA and European Commission(EC Contracts FI4W-CT95-006,FIKW-CT-2000-00016,FI6W-CT-2003-02389)
文摘The bentonite barrier of underground repositories for high-level radioactive waste will be hydrated by the groundwater while it is subjected to high temperatures due to the radioactive decay of the wastes. These changes of temperature affect the hydraulic and mechanical responses of bentonite, which has important effects on design and performance of repositories. The temperature influence on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of bentonite was studied in this paper by experiments, which were carried out with the Spanish FEBEX bentonite compacted at dry densities expected in the' repository (from 1.5 to 1.8 Mg/m^3). The dependence of the swelling strains of bentonite on the temperature has been measured from 30℃ to 90 ℃. At high temperatures the swelling capacity of clay slightly decreases. Also, a clear decrease of swelling pressure as a function of temperature was observed for the same dry densities. Nevertheless, the deformation of bentonite is more dependent on the stress than the temperature. An increase in the permeability of water saturated bentonite with temperature has also been detected. The water retention curves of bentonite compacted at different dry densities were determined under isochoric conditions and in the range of temperatures from 20 ℃ to 120℃. For a given density and water content, the suction decreases as the temperature increases at a rate, which is larger than the one predicted on the basis of water surface tension changing with temperature. Mechanisms related to the physico-chemical interactions that take place at microscopic level, in particular the transfer of interlayer water to the macropores triggered by temperature, seem to explain qualitatively the experimental observations.
文摘The adsorption of the bentonite toward Ni(II) from aqueous solution was studied to obtain optimum conditions,equilibrium model,thermodynamic and kinetic parameters.Statistical method was used to evaluate maximum amount of adsorbed Ni(II).In this work,p H of solution during stirring,contact time,initial Ni(II) concentration,particle size of bentonite and amount of bentonite were considered as effective parameters which should be examined.The increase of temperature has negative effect on the Ni(II) adsorption.The equilibrium data were correlated well with Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models the correlation coefficients of which are(R^2) 0.994 and 0.971,respectively.This model indicates heterogeneous and chemical absorption or ion exchange process.The values of thermodynamic parameters such as ΔH°,ΔS° and ΔG° of nickel adsorption reveal that it is a spontaneous,exothermic and associative process.The experimental data fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic very well with correlation coefficient(R^2) more than 0.995.
基金support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.51809263)the Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Science and Engineering(Sichuan University)(Grant Nos.DESE201906 and DESE201907)。
文摘Gaomiaozi(GMZ)bentonite is a potential buffer/backfill material for a deep geological disposal of highlevel radioactive waste.It has a wide pore size distribution(PSD)with sizes ranging from several nanometers to more than one hundred microns.Thus,properly characterizing the pore structures of GMZ bentonite is a challenging issue.In this study,pressure-controlled porosimetry(PCP),ratecontrolled porosimetry(RCP),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)were used to investigate the PSD of GMZ bentonite,The results indicate that each method has its limitation,and a combined use of PCP and RCP is suitable to obtain the full-scale PSD of GMZ bentonite.Moreover,we also compared the full-scale PSD with nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)result.It is found that there is no significant difference in the range of PSD characterization between NMR and mercury intrusion method(PCP and RCP).However,in a ce rtain range,the detection accuracy of NMR is higher than that of mercury injection method.Finally,permeability prediction based on PCP and SEM data was conducted,and both of the two methods were found to be able to predict the permeability.The combined method is effective to obtain the full-scale PSD of GMZ bentonite,which is the key to estimation of the sealing ability of bentonite buffer.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20577041)the New Century Educational Talents Plan of Chinese Education Ministry (No. NCET-05-0525)+1 种基金the Foundation for the Author of National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of PR China(No.200765)the Program of Provincial Science and Technology of Zhejiang (No. 2006C33050)
文摘To further elucidate interaction of nitroaromatic compounds with mineral surface, the sorption of m-dinitrobenzene (m-DNB) and nitrobenzene to original bentonite in aqueous solution containing different electrolytes (i.e., KCl, NH4Cl, CaCl2 and Tetramethylammonium bromide (TMAB)) was studied. The sorption of m-DNB was greatly enhanced with the presence of KCl and NH4Cl, while little influence was observed with CaCl2 and TMAB, following the order of KCl 〉 NH4Cl 〉〉 TMAB, CaCl2, or DI water. For nitrobenzene, sorption enhancement only occurred at high nitrobenzene concentrations in the presence of KCl, and the solute equilibrium concentration at inflexion point was lowered with increasing KCl concentration. These sorption enhancements were significantly promoted with the increase of electrolyte concentration. The salting-out effect is insufficient to account for the sorption enhancement by original bentonite with increasing KCI or NH4Cl concentration. X-ray diffraction patterns of bentonite suspensions indicated that the sorption enhancement of m-DNB was attributed to the intercalation of K^+ or NH4^+ into bentonite interlayer and then dehydration with m-DNB to form inner-sphere complexes, which caused previously expanded bentonite interlayers to collapse in aqueous suspension, thus further enhanced the interaction of phenyl with siloxane surface. In comparison, the sorption enhancement of NB is attributed to the formation of outer-sphere complexes with K^+ at high solute-loadings (〉 20(0-400 mg/kg). The sorption of m-DNB to initially modified TMA^+-bentonite and K^+-bentonite was almost the same as respective sorption to original bentonite in solution containing TMA^+ and K^+.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.59933060)
文摘Hybrids of intercalative nitrile-butadiene rubber/organomodified bentonite (NBR/OMB) were prepared by thelatex intercalation technique. Investigation of their mechanical properties and the microstructore of NBR/OMB showed thatthe organomodified bentonite is an effective toughener for NBR. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) and X-rnydiffraction (XRD) tests showed that the NBR macromolecule could be intercalated into the galleries of bentonite.Incorporation of NBR/OMB hybrids as tougheners into poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) results in a substantial increase in theimpact strength of PVC, but little decrease in its tensile strength and flexural strength, compared to the unmodified PVC.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21566005,21425627)Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi province(2014GXNSFAA118049)+1 种基金the Open Project of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Resource Processing and Process Intensification Technology(2013K011)the Patent Project of Colleges and Universities of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region(KY2015ZL001)
文摘Ni supported on bentonite was prepared by the impregnation method with different nickel contents, applied to the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline in a fixed-bed reactor, and it was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), H_2-temperature programmed reduction(H_2-TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry(XPS). The results showed that Ni/bentonite catalyst with 20 wt% nickel content provided a higher conversion of nitrobenzene and selectivity of aniline compared to other catalysts. Ni O was the precursor of the active component of the catalyst, and the small crystallite size as well as the highly dispersed Ni O on the Ni/bentonite-20 catalyst, contributed to the catalytic performance. The hydrogenation of nitrobenzene was carried out at 300 °C with a H_2 gaseous hourly space velocity of 4800 ml·(g cat)^(-1)·h^(-1)and a nitrobenzene liquid hourly space velocity of4.8 ml·(g cat)^(-1)·h^(-1)over Ni/bentonite-20. A 95.7% nitrobenzene conversion and 98.8% aniline selectivity were obtained. While the nitrobenzene liquid hourly space velocity was 4.8 ml·(g cat)^(-1)·h^(-1), the yield of aniline was more than 95.0% during a 10-hour reaction.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21566005)the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province(2016GXNSFFA380015)
文摘A 20 wt% Ni/bentonite catalyst was prepared by a solution combustion synthesis (SCS), which exhibited higher activity for the CO_2methanation than that of an impregnation method (IPM), and the catalyst prepared by SCS showed a CO_2 conversion of 85% and a CH4selectivity of 100% at 300 °C, atmospheric pressure, and 3600 ml·(g cat)-1·h-1, and the catalyst exhibited stable within a 110-h reaction. The results showed higher me- tallic Ni dispersion, smaller Ni particle size, larger specific surface area and lower reduction temperature in the Ni/ bentonite prepared by SCS than that of IPM. And the Ni/bentonite prepared by the SCS moderated the interaction between NiO and bentonite.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40202007, 40573064) the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 04020017) is gratefully acknowledged.
文摘Ti-pillared bentonite has been successfully prepared using a modified method that can induce the transformation of TiO2 pillar from amorphous to anatase phase at a low temperature (150℃). The value of d0.01 =1.94 nm obtained by Ti-pillared bentonite is larger than that of corresponding raw clay (1.56 nm). Due to large numbers of Ti-pillars formed, the Ti-pillared bentonite shows an excellent ability in adsorbing Rhodamine B (RB). The photocatalytic activity and kinetic equation are investigated by decomposing RB solution under the UV irradiation. It is found that the Ti- pillared bentonite shows super photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RB solution compared with the untreated bentonite and pure TiO2, and the kinetic equation of the degradation of RB solution is a 1.5-oder equation.
基金support from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of Japanfunding support from Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. KYCX21_0122)
文摘Kozeny-Carman(KC) equation is a well-known relation between hydraulic conductivity and pore properties in porous material. The applications of KC equation to predicting saturated hydraulic conductivities of sands and non-expansive soils are well documented. However, KC equation is incapable of predicting saturated hydraulic conductivity of expansive soil(e.g. bentonite) well. Based on a new dualpore system, this study modified KC equation for improving the prediction of saturated hydraulic conductivities of bentonites. In this study, an assumption that inter-layer space(micropore) has limited effect on fluid flow performance of compacted bentonite was adopted. The critical parameters including total porosity and total tortuosity in conventional KC equation were replaced by macroporosity and tortuosity of macropore, respectively. Macroporosity and microporosity were calculated by basal spacing of compacted bentonite, which was estimated by assuming that specific surface area is changeable during saturation process. A comprehensive comparison of bentonite’s saturated hydraulic conductivity predictions, including modified KC equation proposed in this study, conventional KC equation, and prediction method based on diffuse double layer(DDL) theory, was carried out. It was found that the predicted saturated hydraulic conductivity of bentonites calculated using modified KC equation fitted the experimental data better than others to a certain extent.
基金Funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, China (No. E2008000537)the Foundation for Development of Science and Technology of Hebei Province, China (No. 07215156)the Open Research Foundation of Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials (Tongji University),Ministry of Education, China (No. 2010412)
文摘Electrostatic self-assembly method (ESAM) was used to prepare bentonite supported-nano titanium dioxide photocatalysts. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Methyl orange was used to estimate the photocatalytic activity of the materials. The effects of the calcination temperature and silane dosage on the photocatalytic activity of the samples were investigated. The experimental results show that the bentonite facilitates the formation of anatase and restrains the transformation of anatase to rutile. Part of nano-size TiO2 particles insert into the galleries of bentonite. The photocatalysts exhibit a synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalysis on methyl orange. Photocatalysts prepared by ESAM method exhibit higher photocatalytic activity and better recycle ability than those of the traditional method.
基金the Nuclear Backend Management Department at Taiwan Power Company for financially supporting this research
文摘The characteristics of diffusion are essential to the transport of radionuclides through buffer/backfill materials, such as bentonite, which are commonly found in waste repositories. This study used through-diffusion techniques to investigate the diffusion behavior of HTO and ^(99)TcO_4^- on GMZ bentonite of various densities. Diffusion rates were calculated by measuring the diffusion coefficients(De, Da), plotting breakthrough curves and interpreting experiment data. The apparent and effective diffusion coefficients of HTO ranged from(1.68 ± 0.40) 9 × 10^(-11) to(2.80 ± 0.62) 9 × 10^(-11) m^2/s and from(4.61 ±1.28) 9 × 10^(-12) to (16.2 ± 2.50) 9 × 10^(-12) m^2/s, respectively.The apparent and effective diffusion coefficients of^(99)TcO_4^-ranged from(5.26 ± 0.16) 9 × 10^-12to(7.78 ± 0.43) 9× 10^-12m^2/s and from(1.49 ± 0.002) 9 × 10^(-12) to(4.16 ±0.07) 9 × 10^(-12) m^2/s, respectively. The distribution coefficients of HTO and^(99)TcO_4^-ranged from(0.70 ± 0.12) 9× 10^(-2) to(1.36 ± 0.53) 9 × 10^(-2) mL/g and from(1.12 ±0.06) 9 × 10^(-2) to(5.79 ± 2.22) 9 × 10^(-2) mL/g, respectively.The Deand Kdvalues were shown to decrease with an increase in the bulk dry density of compacted bentonite. Our results show that HTO and ^(99)Tc could be considered nonsorbent radionuclides. The data obtained in this studyprovide a valuable reference for the safety assessment of waste repositories.
文摘The objective of this work is to determine changes of surface properties of a bentonite after acid activation, using hydrochloric acid solutions (HCl) at room temperature. XRD, FX, FTIR, MEB, and BET analyses of the samples have been carried out to examine the structure of bentonite before and after acid activation. It is found that the raw bentonite is composed of dioctahedral montmorillonite with predominant quantity and certain amounts of quartz, albite and illite, etc. It has an cation exchange capacity (CEC) of 74.32 meq/g which allows it to be characterized as typical sodium bentonite. The changes, at low acid concentrations, are the result from from cation exchange (exchangeable cations with H+ ions). Differences of surface area at high acid concentrations (0.25 - 0.4 M) were caused by structural changes and partial decomposition of the samples. Data of surface area measurements have showed that with increase of concentration of hydrochloric acid, the surface area increased. The maximum value (837.11 m2/g) was reached by the sample activated with 0.4 M HCl. By against, activation with higher concentration (0.6 M) caused a decrease in the surface area.
文摘Pre-compacted elements (disks, tutus) of bentonite/sand mixture are candidate materials for sealing plugs of radioactive waste disposal. Choice of this material is mainly based on its swelling capacity allowing all gaps in the system to be sealed, and on its low permeability. When emplaced in the gallery, these elements will start to absorb water from the host rock and swell. Thereby, a swelling pressure will develop in the radial direction against the host rock and in the axial direction against the support structure. In this work, the swelling pressure of a small scale compacted disk of bentonite and sand was experimentally studied in both radial and axial directions. Different swelling kinetics were identified for different dry densities and along different directions. As a rule, the swelling pressure starts increasing quickly, reaches a peak value, decreases a little and finally stabilises. For some dry densities, higher peaks were observed in the radial direction than in the axial direction. The presence of peaks is related to the microstructure change and to the collapse of macro- pores. In parallel to the mechanical tests, microstructure investigation at the sample scale was conducted using microfocus X-ray computed tomography (BCT). Image observation showed a denser structure in the centre and a looser one in the border, which was also confirmed by image analysis. This structure heterogeneity in the radial direction and the occurrence of macro-pores close to the radial boundary of the sample can explain the large peaks observed in the radial swelling pressure evolution. Another interesting result is the higher anisotropy found at lower bentonite dry densities, which was also analysed by means ofμCT observation of a sample at low bentonite dry density after the end of test. It was found that the macro-pores, especially those between sand grains, were not filled by swelled bentonite, which preserved the anisotropic microstructure caused by uniaxial compression due to the absence of microstructure collapse.