DETERMINATION or DISTRIBUTION RATIOS AND DIFFUSION COEFFICIENTS OF NEPTUNIUM, AMERICIUM AND CURIUM IN SOIL-AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS

摘要

Research was completed on the determination of distribution ratios of Am(III), Cm(III), and Np(V) between 12 U.S. soils and water. Since much of the observed distribution ratio was due to suspended soil particles, a new effective distribution ratio was defined to account for these suspended particles. It was found the effective distribution ratio was very dependent on centrifuging and sampling conditions and explained why it is difficult to obtain agreement between experiments and experimenters. A separation function was derived which takes these factors into consideration. In addition, an equation was developed which explains the effective distribution ratio in terms of the separation factor, the particle size distribution of the soil, and the extent or nature of the binding of actinide elements to soil particles.