Impact of the solution ionic strength on strontium diffusion through the Callovo-Oxfordian clayrocks: An experimental and modeling study

Abstract

Diffusion of cations in clayrocks is widely investigated, because deep clay-rich formations are currently considered as one of the potential host rocks for radioactive waste repositories. However, several authors have already reported that sorbing cations seem to diffuse at rates larger than those predicted by a simple pore diffusion model from their sorption coefficients and from the diffusive flux of non-sorbing water tracers. This process has been attributed to the migration of cations within the electrical double layer, next to the mineral surfaces, called the surface diffusion phenomenon. The aim of this work was to verify whether this “enhanced” cation diffusion compared to neutral species was observed for strontium and, if so, to what extent this effect might vary with the salinity of the synthetic solutions. These questions were addressed by performing batch sorption, through-diffusion and out-diffusion experiments on rock samples from the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone formation (France).The results showed that there was a good agreement of the distribution ratios (RD) determined on crushed and intact rocks by batch and through-diffusion methods with a RD decrease related to the increase of the sodium concentration, a sorption competitor. Such a trend was also well reproduced by means of a geochemical modeling based on the multi-site ion exchange (MSIE) theory. Moreover, the “enhanced” diffusion for strontium was clearly observed in this study: the Sr diffusive flux was almost five times higher than that for HTO in the cell with the lowest ionic strength, and diminished to less than 1.5 times in the cell with the highest ionic strength. The evolution of the Sr diffusive flux with the ionic strength was qualitatively reproduced by a surface diffusion model, based on the concept of relative diffusive mobility or mobile fraction.