Underground disposal of krypton-85 from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants

Diffusion and adsorption of krypton and xenon in underground materials

“…The results in Table II, especially the comparison bettveen the adsorption capacity of Kr-saturated Idaho Falls regolith with that of natural Idaho Falls regolith, indicate a definite adsorption retention of both Kr and Xe on the different materials tested. They also indicate the validity of Equation 7in evaluating the velocity of underground movement of a gas, governed by molecular diffusion and adsorption, as proposed in the theoretical evaluation (11). While the adsorption capacity, as determined by Equation 7 was zero for Kr-saturated Idaho Falls regolith, a definite adsorption capacity was found for materials which were tested.…”

“…A theoretical evaluation of the underground disposal of krypton-85 released from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants (11) has been made based on different assumptions concerning the diffusion and adsorption of the gas in underground material. Experimental data available for the diffusion and adsorption of noble gases in soil and underground materials are very scarce, and therefore it was felt necessary to check experimentally the validity of the assumptions made in the theoretical evaluation.…”