University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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

Akrie, Perry

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AKRIE-THESIS-2022.pdf

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

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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
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115824
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2022 Perry Akrie

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