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  4. Long-term in-situ oxidation of biogenic uraninite in an alluvial aquifer: impact of dissolved oxygen and calcium
 
research article

Long-term in-situ oxidation of biogenic uraninite in an alluvial aquifer: impact of dissolved oxygen and calcium

Lezama Pacheco, Juan
•
Cerrato, Jose
•
Veeramani, Harish  
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2015
Environmental Science & Technology

Oxidative dissolution controls uranium release to (sub)oxic pore waters from biogenic uraninite produced by natural or engineered processes, such as bioremediation Laboratory studies show that uraninite dissolution is profoundly influenced by dissolved oxygen (DO), carbonate, and solutes such as Ca2+. It complex and heterogeneous subsurface environments, the concentrations of these solutes vary in time and space. Knowledge of dissolution processes and kinetics occurring over the long-term under such conditions is needed to predict subsurface uranium behavior and optimize the selection and performance Of uraninite-based remediation technologies over multiyear periods. We have assessed dissolution of biogenic uraninite deployed in wells at the Rifle, CO, DOE research site over a 22 month period. Uraninite loss rates were highly sensitive to DO, with near-complete loss at >0.6 mg/L over this period but no measurable loss at lower DO. We conclude that uraninite can be stable over decadal time scales in aquifers under low DO conditions. U(VI) solid products were absent over a wide range of DO values, suggesting that dissolution proceeded through complexation and removal of oxidized surface uranium atoms by carbonate. Moreover, under the groundwater conditions present, Ca2+ binds strongly to uraninite surfaces at structural uranium sites, impacting uranium fate.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1021/acs.est.5b00949
Web of Science ID

WOS:000356755200028

Author(s)
Lezama Pacheco, Juan
Cerrato, Jose
Veeramani, Harish  
Alessi, Daniel  
Suvorova, Elena  
Bernier-Latmani, Rizlan  
Giammar, Daniel
Long, Philipp
Williams, Kenneth
Bargar, John
Date Issued

2015

Publisher

Amer Chemical Soc

Published in
Environmental Science & Technology
Volume

49

Start page

7340

End page

7347

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
EML  
Available on Infoscience
May 24, 2015
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/114041
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