The Impact of Dissolved Salts on the Erosion of Physically Purified Compacted Bentonite

Abstract

Compressed bentonite is an appropriate cushion material for getting rid of spent nuclear waste below the surface storage. The contact of compressed bentonite with water, its immersion in water and subsequently its swelling into the neighboring gaps are the principal processes for the development of colloid fines. In this study, to examine the impact of ionic strength on the erosion of compacted bentonite, only the ionic power values of the water contacting the bentonite were changed by keeping the flow rates constant. Sodium chloride was used to change the ionic power of the water contacting the bentonite throughout the experiment. Turbidity meter (TM) was used to determine the amount of eroded particles. The dissolution of bentonite fragments is critical not only due to their physical stability but also due to the radioactive isotopes they contain. An experimentation methodology is introduced. The implemented flow rates were 0.06 ml/min and 0.22 ml/min, and the selected waters were distilled water and 0.05 M NaCl ionic strength water. The dry densities of the compressed bentonite samples used were 1.67 g/cm3, 1.72 g/cm3, 1.72 g/cm3 and 1.72 g/cm3. With distilled water, the total erosion value measured at the end of the 24th day using a flow rate of 0.06 ml/min was 1002.7 mg, whereas the final erosion value measured at the end of the 24th day using water containing 0.05 M NaCl salt was 31.13 mg. In the case of distilled water, the total erosion value measured at the end of the 24th day using a flow rate of 0.22 ml/min was 1774.85 mg, while the total erosion value measured at the end of the 24th day using water containing 0.05 M NaCl salt was 73.6 mg. This demonstrates that the influence of the ionic strongness of the water on erosion is too important to be neglected.