The redox behavior of uranium on Beishan granite: Effect of Fe2+ and Fe3+ content

The Beishan granitic area in Gansu Province is a site with the greatest potential for a repository of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in China. In this study, the redox behavior of uranium on Beishan granite was investigated at pH values from similar to 4.4 to similar to 9.2. Due to the presence of Fe2+-containing fluorannite, results showed that U(VI) was partially reduced by the granites from boreholes 2 (486 m) and 28 (670 m) at a relatively low initial pH whether Na2CO3/NaCl or native groundwater was used as a background electrolyte. Partial oxidation of UO2 was observed when UO2 contacted Beishan granite directly. Therefore, this incomplete reduction of U(VI) was mainly attributed to minor Fe3+ that was either originally contained in the granite or generated during U(VI) reduction. Consequently, aliovalent oxides (e.g., U3O8, U3O2, U4O9, etc.) should be the thermodynamically stable phase in Beishan granite. A mechanism involving the dissolution of Fe2+ from the granite structure followed by interfacial adsorption/reaction was proposed for the U(VI) reduction. This study demonstrates that Beishan granite has a good reducing capacity, which is suitable for the immobilization of redox-sensitive radionuclides. However, potential oxidation of spent fuel by Fe3+ in the granite should also been taken into account.