Adsorption of bivalent ions (Ca(II), Sr(II) and Co(II)) onto FEBEX bentonite

Abstract The sorption of the bivalent ions Ca, Sr and Co onto the Spanish “ FEBEX ” bentonite, converted to its Na-form was analysed. Several batch experiments were carried out to study, the effects of pH, ionic strength and radionuclide concentration on the uptake of these bivalent elements, independently. Results showed that the sorption behaviour of Ca and Sr is very similar both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view. The main sorption mechanism for Ca and Sr on the Na–montmorillonite is the ionic exchange and sorption is linear in the whole range of concentrations investigated. The mean logarithm of selectivity coefficient, with respect to Na, obtained from the above-mentioned sorption studies, considering trace concentrations of these elements, is 0.65 ± 0.11 and 0.66 ± 0.06 for Ca and Sr, respectively. However, a small contribution due to surface complexation at the clay edge sites (SOH) had to be considered to fit adequately the sorption results obtained at pH higher than 8 and higher ionic strengths. The sorption behaviour of Co is quite different from that observed for the previous elements. The pH-dependence of Co sorption on the clay is significantly more noticeable, indicating a major contribution of surface complexation at the edge sites. Sorption due to ionic exchange becomes more evident when the ionic strength decreases. The value of the logarithm of the selectivity coefficient, with respect to Na, used in the simulations was 0.62 ± 0.13. The sorption isotherms with Co indicated the existence of two different complexation sites (weak and strong) that were accounted for in the final modelling.