Experimental measurements of Sr adsorption onto kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite in up to 4.0 mol/kg NaCl solutions, were modelled with the surface ionization and complexation triple-layer (SIC) model (Davis et al. [1]) to determine if model adjustments were required for high ionic strengths. Improved model fits to the adsorption data were obtained at high ionic strengths, reflecting a lowered sensitivity of the model. A general reduction in Sr adsorption with increasing ionic strength was caused by an increase in the outer layer surface charge, rather than by a drop in the number of available adsorption sites.
Sensitivity analysis showed that the range of values of model constants yielding acceptable fits was as large as variations reported in the literature for these constants. The study demonstrates that adsorption will not retard Sr migration in brines, and that it is unnecessary to introduce a Pitzer ion interaction subroutine (Pitzer [2]) in the SIC model when considering adsorption at high ionic strengths.
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