Association of radionuclides with components of fulvic acids isolated from soils

Abstract

The distribution of Pu and Am between specific and nonspecific components of various groups of the organic matter of soil was studied. For chernozem and soddy podzolic soil, 63 and 53% of Pu and only 1 and 8% of Am, respectively, are bound with fulvic acid purified to remove low-molecular-weight compounds by fractionation on BAU activated charcoal. Larger relative amount of Am, compared to Pu, in the form of low-molecular-weight nonspecific compounds is responsible for higher migration mobility of Am, compared to Pu, in the environment. The sorption of organic complexes of Pu and Am on carbon nanotubes was studied. The degree of Pu sorption only slightly depends on the nature of the organic substance, except solutions of humic acids from which the Pu sorption is appreciably higher. The degree of Am sorption regularly increases with a decrease in the molecular weight of the organic substances.