The role of chemical reduction in decreasing uranium concentrations in natural groundwaters: A case study from India

Akrie, Perry

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115824 Copy

Description

Title

The role of chemical reduction in decreasing uranium concentrations in natural groundwaters: A case study from India

Author(s)

Akrie, Perry

Issue Date

2022-04-27

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Lundstrom, Craig C

Department of Study

Geology

Discipline

Geology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

uranium, chemical reduction, isotope

Abstract

Issues of Uranium contamination are widespread across the globe and will continue to increase based on an ever-growing need for power that doesn’t increase our already large carbon footprint. Nuclear power comes with the inherent responsibility to dispose of nuclear waste properly and permanently on human timescales. Reductive precipitation of U from its soluble +6 valence to the insoluble +4 valence is a long-standing strategy for reducing U concentrations at spill sites and in natural settings where groundwaters high in U leached naturally from aquifer rocks exist. Previous authors (Bopp, 2010; Brennecka, 2010; Jemison, 2016) have established methods that use 238U/235U isotopic ratios to establish the effectiveness of remediation techniques and also distinguish reductive precipitation from sorption, a process which may lower U concentrations but only for a short time. We attempt to use these techniques in a natural setting, with groundwaters previously used in a study (Coyte et al., 2018) that quantified widespread U contamination in NW India. With a combination of 238U/235U, δ238U and 234U/238U we were able to notice a general trend of slight positive correlation between δ238U and U concentration, and perhaps most notably, trends within aquifer substrates that imply that δ238U can be used to detect whether reduction has occurred in natural systems.

Graduation Semester

2022-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Perry Akrie

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