Natural analogue studies as supplements to biomineralization research
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
Chemical reactions can alter the chemistry and crystal structure of solid objects over archeological or geological times, while preserving external physical shapes. The reactions resulting in these structures offer natural analogues to laboratory experiments in biomineralization and to biologically influenced alteration of nuclear waste packages, and thus, they offer the only available way of validating models that purport waste package behavior over archaeological or geological times. Potential uses of such analogues in the construction and validation of hypothetical mechanisms of microbiological corrosion and biomineralization are reviewed. Evidence from such analogues suggests that biofilms can control materials alteration in ways usually overlooked. The newly hypothesized mechanisms involve control by biofilms of the cation flow near the solid surface and offer plausible mechanisms for the formation of mixed-cation minerals under conditions that would lead to dealloying in abiotic experiments; they also account for the formation of unusual minerals [such as posnjakite, Cu{sub 4}SO{sub 4}(OH){sub 6{center_dot}}H{sub 2}O] and mineral morphologies unusual in corrosion [malachite, Cu{sub 2}CO{sub 3}(OH){sub 2}, rarely forms botryoidally under corrosion conditions and its occasional presence on archaeological objects that appear to have undergone microbiological corrosion may be related to biofilm phenomena].
- Research Organization:
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Regulatory Applications; Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (United States). Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses
- OSTI ID:
- 146989
- Report Number(s):
- NUREG/CP-0147; CONF-9107285-; CNWRA-93-020; ON: TI96001409; TRN: 96:001447
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Workshop on the role of natural analogs in geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste, San Antonio, TX (United States), 22-25 Jul 1991; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Workshop on the role of natural analogs in geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste: Proceedings; Kovach, L.A. [ed.] [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Regulatory Applications]; Murphy, W.M. [ed.] [Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (United States). Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses]; PB: 120 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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