Dissolution of Neptunium Dioxide and Transport of Aqueous and Colloidal Neptunium in the Vadose Zone
Date of Award
May 2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Environmental Engineering and Earth Science
Committee Member
Brian A Powell
Committee Member
Lindsay Shuller-Nickles
Committee Member
Nicole Martinez
Committee Member
Daniel Kaplan
Abstract
Management of legacy nuclear waste, along with proposed geologic disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel, necessitates prediction of environmental fate and transport of actinide solid phases, which comprise a majority of long-lived waste products. Actinide dioxides are key for performance assessment due to their ubiquity throughout the nuclear fuel cycle. Neptunium-237, produced in burn-up of commercial nuclear fuel and various other nuclear processes, is often found as an oxide (NpO2(s)) and has the potential to become highly mobile in near-surface geochemical conditions due to oxidation processes. In this dissertation, the oxidation and dissolution of NpO2(s) was studied through both field and laboratory scale work, confirming conceptual models across large spatial scales. Overall, the objective of this dissertation was to determine the dissolution mechanisms of NpO2(s) in environmentally relevant conditions. Initial field scale studies of NpO2(s) dissolution and transport in field lysimeters over 0.8 to 3 years identified mobility of Np in the vadose zone from both aqueous and colloidal Np. Subsequent laboratory scale work confirmed and developed a conceptual model of grain-boundary facilitated dissolution through dissolution experiments and advanced characterization of the of NpO2(s) solid phase. Finally, the effect of grain boundaries on NpO2(s) dissolution was further probed by controlling grain size through synthesis parameters and dissolving various nanograined NpO2(s) materials.
Recommended Citation
Peruski, Kathryn Margaret, "Dissolution of Neptunium Dioxide and Transport of Aqueous and Colloidal Neptunium in the Vadose Zone" (2020). All Dissertations. 2591.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2591