Understanding the relation between osmotic pressure and structure of calcium montmorillonite

Project: Research

Project Details

Description

The project aims to investigate the relationship between osmotic pressure and structure of calcium montmorillonite (Ca-Mt). Montmorillonite is a clay mineral and the dominant component of bentonite which is intended as a buffer material in several final repository concepts of high-level radioactive waste. The goal is to make accurate structural determinations of Ca-Mt by means of synchrotron radiation and correlate the structure to measured pressures and thereby increase the understanding of how Ca-Mt swells and how calcium ions may affect the performance of a final repository.
The project is a collaboration between Clay Technology Lund AB and the Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Lund University. Montmorillonite is extracted from bentonite and ion exchanged into calcium form. Osmotic pressure of a number of Ca-Mt samples will be measured. The montmorillonite from these measurements will then be examined with SAXS (Small Angle X-ray Scattering) at the CoSAXS beamline at the MAX IV laboratory in Lund. The analysis of the SAXS results provides information on the structure of each sample which is then correlated with the corresponding measured pressure.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date2021/11/012022/12/31

Collaborative partners

UKÄ subject classification

  • Natural Sciences

Free keywords

  • osmotic pressure
  • Ca Montmorillonite
  • SAXS