Adsorption isotherm special study. Final report

The study was designed to identify methods to determine adsorption applicable to Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project sites, and to determine how changes in aquifer conditions affect metal adsorption, resulting retardation factors, and estimated contaminant migration rates. EPA and ASTM procedures were used to estimate sediment sorption of U, As, and Mo under varying groundwater geochemical conditions. Aquifer matrix materials from three distinct locations at the DOE UMTRA Project site in Rifle, CO, were used as the adsorbents under different pH conditions; these conditions stimulated geochemical environments under the tailings, near the tailings, and downgradient from the tailings. Grain size, total surface area, bulk and clay mineralogy, and petrography of the sediments were characterized. U and Mo yielded linear isotherms, while As had nonlinear ones. U and Mo were adsorbed strongly on sediments acidified to levels similar to tailings leachate. Changes in pH had much less effect on As adsorption. Mo was adsorbed very little at pH 7-7.3, U was weakly sorbed, and As was moderately sorbed. Velocities were estimated for metal transport at different pHs. Results show that the aquifer materials must be characterized to estimate metal transport velocities in aquifers and to develop groundwater restoration strategies for the UMTRA project