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The potential impact of anaerobic microbial metabolism during the geological disposal of intermediate-level waste

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

A. Rizoulis ,
H. M. Steele ,
K. Morris  and
J. R. Lloyd
A. Rizoulis
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Radwaste and Decommissioning and the Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
H. M. Steele
Affiliation:
National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, Cheshire WA3 6AE, UK
K. Morris
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Radwaste and Decommissioning and the Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
J. R. Lloyd*
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Radwaste and Decommissioning and the Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, Cheshire WA3 6AE, UK
*
*E-mail: jon.lloyd@manchester.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Microbial metabolism has the potential to control the biogeochemistry of redox-active radionuclides in a range of geodisposal scenarios. In this study, sediments from a high pH lime workings site were incubated under carefully controlled anaerobic conditions, at a range of alkali pH values with added electron donors and electron acceptors, to explore the limits and rates of bioreduction in a sediment system analogous to intermediate-level nuclear waste. There was a clear succession in the utilization of electron acceptors (in the order nitrate > Fe(III)-citrate > Fe(III) oxyhydroxide > sulfate), in accordance with calculated free energy yields and Eh values over the pH range 10–12. The rate and extent of bioreduction decreased at higher pH, with an upper limit for the processes studied at pH 12. The biochemical limits for such processes are discussed, alongside the potential impact of such forms of microbial metabolism on the solubility of a range of redox active radionuclides that will feature heavily in the safety case for the geological disposal of intermediate-level nuclear waste.

Keywords

safety casealkaliphilegeodisposalactinidefission productILW
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 76 , Issue 8 , December 2012 , pp. 3261 - 3270
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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