Effect of desorption kinetics on colloid‐facilitated transport of contaminants: Cesium, strontium, and illite colloids

Abstract

To examine the importance of desorption kinetics to colloid‐facilitated transport, we conducted column experiments comparing the transport of cesium and strontium through a saturated quartz sand porous medium in the absence and presence of illite colloids at two ionic strengths. Because cesium desorption from illite was anticipated to be slower than that of strontium, we expected to see a contrast in the colloid‐facilitated transport of the cations. A model of colloid‐facilitated transport accounting for second‐order cation adsorption to and desorption from the quartz, second‐order cation adsorption to and desorption from fast and slow sites on the illite colloids, and second‐order colloid deposition to and release from the quartz accurately simulated the cation transport in the absence and presence of the illite colloids. The column results and model simulations revealed that cesium desorption was indeed slower than strontium desorption and that this contrast in desorption kinetics resulted in greater colloid‐facilitated transport of the cesium. The desorption of both cations was slow relative to the rate of advection. The fast and slow sites on the illite colloids behaved like planar and frayed edge sites typically identified for cesium adsorption to illite. The amount of cesium adsorbed to the slow, or frayed edge, sites was similar to the frayed edge site density of illite estimated by other researchers.