A Conceivable Technique of Measuring Sorption Coefficients in Intact Rock Using an Electrical Potential Gradient as the Driving Force for Migration

Abstract

ABSTRACTSorption coefficients are traditionally obtained in batch experiments if the sorbent is strongly or intermediately sorbing. In a batch experiment the rock is crushed and this could increase the surface area as well as induce new and fresh surfaces. Therefore there is some concern whether sorption coefficients obtained in batch experiments represents those of intact rock. Performing sorption experiment by diffusion in intact rock with intermediately and strongly sorbing species seems impossible in practice due to extremely long experimental times. In this paper the possibility of increasing the migration rate in the rock by two of three orders, thus enabling KD measurements of intermediately sorbing species in intact rock, is discussed. The increase in migration ratehas already been achieved successfully in so called through electromigration experiments using non-sorbing species. Here a potential gradient acts as the main driving force. In our experiments the migration rate was increased 320 times by using a potential drop of only 9 volts.