Uranium (VI) binding to humic substances: Speciation, estimation of competition, and application to independent data

Abstract

In groundwaters containing natural organic matter (NOM), mostly humic substances (HS), it is expected that it plays a role on the behavior of uranium in the environment. Another point is the actual effect of the competition with major cations and carbonate ions for U(VI)-NOM complexation. Our aim is to acquire experimental data for the U(VI)-HS complexation with two new different methodologies. The NICA-Donnan model is then used to predict uranium speciation in different groundwaters.