Impact of microstructure on anion exclusion in compacted clay media

Abstract : The sensitivity of ion concentration distribution models to three key model assumptions, the pore-size distribution of clay media, the distance of closest approach of ions to the clay surface, and the accessibility of sub-nanometer-wide clay mineral interlayer spaces to anions, was explored by solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation for swelling and non-swelling clay materials. Our calculations show that all three model assumptions significantly impact values predicted for the anion accessible porosity. As a consequence, macroscopic measurements of anion exclusion in clay media cannot be used to test any of the three model assumptions independently of the two others. Information gained at the nanoscale,in particular, a detailed characterization of pore size distribution, is necessary to develop accurate predictive models of the anion accessible porosity of clay media.