The Use of Some Ion-Exchange Sorbing Tracer Cations in Insitu Experiments in High Saline Groundwaters

Abstract

AbstractThe possibility to use alkali metals and alkaline earth metals as slightly sorbing tracers in in-situ sorption experiments in high saline groundwaters has been investigated. The cation exchange characteristics of granite and some fracture minerals (chlorite and calcite) have been studied using the proposed cations as tracers. The results show low Kd’s for Na, Ca and Sr (∽0.1 ml/g), while the sorption is higher for the more electropositive cations (Rb, Cs and Ba). A higher contribution of irreversible sorption can also be observed for the latter group of cations. For calcite the sorption of all the tracers, except Ca, is lower compared to the corresponding sorption to granite and chlorite. Differences in selectivity coefficients and cation exchange capacity are obtained when using different size fractions of crushed granite. The difference is even more pronounced when comparing crushed granite to intact granite.