The Role of Clays in Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Clays and Engineered Mineral Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (18 September 2022) | Viewed by 6137
Special Issue Editors
Interests: geological disposal; clay mineralogy; pore water geochemistry; long-term stability of host rock and engineered barriers; interactions between various components of geological repository
Interests: properties of clays and natural functional raw materials; applicability of bentonites in European HLRW repositories; adsorption mechanisms in soils and geotechnical barriers; development of new or modified mineralogical methods frequently based on a collection of reference materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: pore water chemistry; clay mineral synthesis; clay formations; properties of clays and natural raw materials; applicability of bentonites in European HLRW repositories
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Geological disposal is internationally accepted as the safe solution for the long-term management of the long-lived radioactive waste. In this context, clays and clay minerals possess several unique properties (e.g. low hydraulic conductivity, high sorption capacity, low porosity, swelling, self-sealing), which are essential to maintain safe functioning of the repository via long-term containment of the waste and retardation of the radionuclide transport. Therefore, clays play a crucial role as natural barriers or as components of the engineered barrier system in the various disposal concepts. To function as effective barriers, clays must maintain their desirable properties for long periods of time (≥1Ma) under a variety of (bio)geochemical conditions. Such conditions involve, among others, increased temperature, oxidation, alkaline plume, bacterial activity with the reaction fronts typically studied at the interface between various repository components (concrete/clay, bentonite/metal etc.) at multiple spatial and time scales. All these phenomena lead to a complex interplay between THMC coupled processes, which may have a significant impact on the long-term performance of the clay host rocks or engineered barriers. This special Issue is open to scientific papers featuring multiple facets of the clay research in the broad context of the geological disposal of radioactive waste.
Dr. Honty Miroslav
Dr. Stephan Kaufhold
Dr. Ana María Fernández
Dr. Patrik Sellin
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- clays
- bentonites
- physico-chemical properties
- geochemical alterations
- geological disposal
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