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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Environmental Engineering

2014

Actinide

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Toward Understanding The Thermodynamics And Mechanisms Of Actinide Sorption Reactions, Shanna Estes Dec 2014

Toward Understanding The Thermodynamics And Mechanisms Of Actinide Sorption Reactions, Shanna Estes

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The environmental fate of actinides is greatly influenced by interfacial reactions, including sorption onto solid surfaces. Because changes in the primary hydration sphere of the actinide are expected to greatly influence the thermodynamics (i.e., reaction enthalpy and entropy) of these reactions, examining actinide sorption thermodynamics may provide insight into actinide sorption mechanisms. Additionally, examining actinide sorption thermodynamics may enhance the ability to model or predict these reactions in environmental or engineered systems where variable or elevated temperatures are expected. However, few researchers have studied actinide sorption thermodynamics. Therefore, this research examined the thermodynamics of Eu(III) (a trivalent actinide analog), Th(IV), …


Experimental Evidence For Colloid-Facilitated Transport Of Plutonium, Hilary Emerson Dec 2014

Experimental Evidence For Colloid-Facilitated Transport Of Plutonium, Hilary Emerson

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Colloid-facilitated transport of the actinides has been observed previously in the field on the kilometer scale. The objective of this work is to investigate the mechanisms of colloid-facilitated transport with controlled settings and conditions. The experimental work in this dissertation investigates transport of a ternary complex with iron oxide colloids, organic ligands and actinides in the presence of quartz or a natural sandy soil as well as simplified systems building up to the ternary complexes. The first three papers investigate the following: (1) unsaturated transport of iron oxide colloids in a natural sandy soil lysimeter with and without natural organic …