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Title: Self-accelerated corrosion of nuclear waste forms at material interfaces

Journal Article · · Nature Materials
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [4];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [4];  [5];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
  2. Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Bagnols sur Cèze (France)
  3. Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States)
  4. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  5. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  6. Univ. of North Texas, Denton, TX (United States)

The US plan for high-level nuclear waste includes the immobilization of long-lived radionuclides in glass or ceramic waste forms in stainless-steel canisters for disposal in deep geological repositories. Herein we report that, under simulated repository conditions, corrosion could be significantly accelerated at the interfaces of different barrier materials, which has not been considered in the current safety and performance assessment models. Severe localized corrosion was found at the interfaces between stainless steel and a model nuclear waste glass and between stainless steel and a ceramic waste form. The accelerated corrosion can be attributed to changes of solution chemistry and local acidity/alkalinity within a confined space, which significantly alter the corrosion of both the waste-form materials and the metallic canisters. The corrosion that is accelerated by the interface interaction between dissimilar materials could profoundly impact the service life of the nuclear waste packages, which, therefore, should be carefully thought about when evaluating the performance of waste forms and their packages. Moreover, compatible barriers should be selected to further optimize the performance of the geological repository system.

Research Organization:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Performance and Design of Nuclear Waste Forms and Containers (WastePD); The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States); Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Univ. of North Texas, Denton, TX (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0016584
OSTI ID:
1600995
Journal Information:
Nature Materials, Vol. 19, Issue 3; ISSN 1476-1122
Publisher:
Springer Nature - Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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