Diffusion of 60Co, 137Cs and 152Eu in Opalinus Clay

Abstract

AbstractThis study addresses the diffusion of representative sorbing elements, cobalt, cesium and europium in the Opalinus Clay (OPA). The methodology used here to determine diffusion coefficients is the ‘instantaneous planar source’ method. In this setup, a paper filter impregnated with tracer is introduced between two clay samples, avoiding contact between the tracer and the experimental vessels. The apparent diffusion coefficients (Da) perpendicular to the bedding plane, obtained with this experimental method and fitting the experimental results with an analytical solution, were Da(Co) = (2.4-3.5)·10-14 m2/s, Da(Cs) = (5.9-8.0)·10-14 m2/s, and Da(Eu) = (1.0-2.1)·10-15 m2/s. With cobalt and cesium, classical in-diffusion experiments were also performed for comparison, and similar Da values were obtained but with a large dispersion. To analyze the possible effects of the paper filter impregnated with the tracer on the determinations of Da with the analytical solution, one experiment was also analyzed using a detailed stochastic model of the setup. The good agreement between the two modeling approaches confirms the validity of this experimental setup and the analytical model fitting procedure.