Abstract
Retention of 226Ra2+ by barite in aqueous solution is studied in a barite (re)precipitation experiment with 226Ra2+ doped barite suspensions at I = 0.1 mol·(kg H2O)–1 at ambient temperature. After about two years a steady state is achieved, demonstrating that 226Ra2+(aq) concentration is controlled by the solubility of a (Ba,Ra)SO4 solid solution and several orders of magnitude below the Ra2+ solubility with respect to a pure RaSO4(s) endmember. Results of the barite (re)precipitation experiment are compared to recent (Ba,Ra)SO4 coprecipitation experiments by Rosenberg and co-workers at ionic strength I = 0.7 – 7.0 mol·(kg H2O)−1.
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Notes
- 1.
In the present communication the term activity refers solely to the product of the molality and activity coefficient (i.e., the change in the chemical potential of a solute) and not as a synonym for radioactivity.
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Metz, V., Rosenberg, Y., Bosbach, D., Böttle, M., Ganor, J. (2011). Formation of (Ba,Ra)SO4 Solid Solutions – Results from Barite (Re)Precipitation and Coprecipitation Experiments. In: Merkel, B., Schipek, M. (eds) The New Uranium Mining Boom. Springer Geology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22122-4_73
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