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Migration and fate of 14CH4 in subsoil: tracer experiments to inform model development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

B. S. Atkinson ,
W. Meredith ,
C. Snape ,
M. Steven ,
A. R. Hoch ,
D. Lever  and
G. Shaw
B. S. Atkinson
Affiliation:
School of Biosciences, Agricultural and Environmental Science, Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington LE12 5RD, UK
W. Meredith
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
C. Snape
Affiliation:
School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
M. Steven
Affiliation:
School of Geography, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
A. R. Hoch
Affiliation:
AMEC, B150 Thomson Avenue, Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QB, UK
D. Lever
Affiliation:
AMEC, B150 Thomson Avenue, Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QB, UK
G. Shaw*
Affiliation:
School of Biosciences, Agricultural and Environmental Science, Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington LE12 5RD, UK
*
*E-mail: george.shaw@nottingham.ac.uk
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Abstract

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The degree of transport and retention of 14CH4 in soil is being investigated in a series of laboratory experiments in preparation for field scale trials at the University of Nottingham. The experimental programme focusses on the behaviour and fate of 14CH4 injected into subsoil and its subsequent incorporation into vegetation under field conditions. Due to restrictions on the use of radioactive tracers in the field, 13CH4 is being used as a surrogate gas which can be handled conveniently in the laboratory and field and which can be measured with high precision using gas chromatography with isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The laboratory data indicate significant differences between the diffusion and oxidation rates of 13CH4 in re-packed and undisturbed soil columns, with both rates appearing to be significantly lower in undisturbed soils. Data from both laboratory and field experiments will be used to inform the development of a model of 14CH4 migration and its fate in the biosphere above a geological disposal facility.

Keywords

carbon-14gas migrationgeological disposalradioactive waste
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 76 , Issue 8 , December 2012 , pp. 3345 - 3354
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
© [2012] The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2012

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