Modelling the Sorption of 152Eu to Granitic Rocks and Sorption Verification Using Energy Dispersive X-Ray, Microanalysis

152Eu is often used as a representative of trivalent actinides in the migration studies of radioactive nuclides in ground water systems. In the event of leached nuclides from a repository, humans have only the geomedia as the only retardation barrier by the process of sorption of leached radioactive radionuclides. In this study 152Eu was used to study the sorption properties of different granitic rocks in batch sorption experiments and results modelled using non electrostatic correction models such as the Linear Kd, the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherms. Sorption identification studies were carried out on Bulk granitic samples and analysed using Energy dispersive X-ray, microanalysis. Sorption verification studies of Eu sorption to a granitic bulk sample was conducted with the help of FIE QUANTA 600 Environmental scanning electron microscope, coupled with Oxford Instrument-INCA450 a solid state 2 diode type detector, operating at environmental pressure of 3 and DI water showed that sorption of Eu occurred at the different mineral phases of the granite sample with most of the sorption taking place at the mica phase. Taking into consideration the effect of surface area per gram of solid, results showed that the most sorbing among the granitic rocks was GrG while the least sorbing was RG. Based on the calculated Rd, sorption to the different granitic rocks studied can be ranked in the order; GrG > GG > GA > BG > RG. microanalysis showed sorption on the various component minerals of the granitic sample.