skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Natural analogues of nuclear waste glass corrosion.

Abstract

This report reviews and summarizes studies performed to characterize the products and processes involved in the corrosion of natural glasses. Studies are also reviewed and evaluated on how well the corrosion of natural glasses in natural environments serves as an analogue for the corrosion of high-level radioactive waste glasses in an engineered geologic disposal system. A wide range of natural and experimental corrosion studies has been performed on three major groups of natural glasses: tektite, obsidian, and basalt. Studies of the corrosion of natural glass attempt to characterize both the nature of alteration products and the reaction kinetics. Information available on natural glass was then compared to corresponding information on the corrosion of nuclear waste glasses, specifically to resolve two key questions: (1) whether one or more natural glasses behave similarly to nuclear waste glasses in laboratory tests, and (2) how these similarities can be used to support projections of the long-term corrosion of nuclear waste glasses. The corrosion behavior of basaltic glasses was most similar to that of nuclear waste glasses, but the corrosion of tektite and obsidian glasses involves certain processes that also occur during the corrosion of nuclear waste glasses. The reactions and processes that control basaltmore » glass dissolution are similar to those that are important in nuclear waste glass dissolution. The key reaction of the overall corrosion mechanism is network hydrolysis, which eventually breaks down the glass network structure that remains after the initial ion-exchange and diffusion processes. This review also highlights some unresolved issues related to the application of an analogue approach to predicting long-term behavior of nuclear waste glass corrosion, such as discrepancies between experimental and field-based estimates of kinetic parameters for basaltic glasses.« less

Authors:
; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Lab., IL (US)
Sponsoring Org.:
US Department of Energy (US)
OSTI Identifier:
12000
Report Number(s):
ANL-98/22
TRN: US0102318
DOE Contract Number:  
W-31109-ENG-38
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 6 Jan 1999
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; WASTE FORMS; CORROSION; DISSOLUTION; GLASS; HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES; HYDROLYSIS; ION EXCHANGE; NATURAL ANALOGUE; CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS; TEKTITES; BASALT

Citation Formats

Abrajano, Jr, T A, Ebert, W L, and Luo, J S. Natural analogues of nuclear waste glass corrosion.. United States: N. p., 1999. Web. doi:10.2172/12000.
Abrajano, Jr, T A, Ebert, W L, & Luo, J S. Natural analogues of nuclear waste glass corrosion.. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/12000
Abrajano, Jr, T A, Ebert, W L, and Luo, J S. 1999. "Natural analogues of nuclear waste glass corrosion.". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/12000. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/12000.
@article{osti_12000,
title = {Natural analogues of nuclear waste glass corrosion.},
author = {Abrajano, Jr, T A and Ebert, W L and Luo, J S},
abstractNote = {This report reviews and summarizes studies performed to characterize the products and processes involved in the corrosion of natural glasses. Studies are also reviewed and evaluated on how well the corrosion of natural glasses in natural environments serves as an analogue for the corrosion of high-level radioactive waste glasses in an engineered geologic disposal system. A wide range of natural and experimental corrosion studies has been performed on three major groups of natural glasses: tektite, obsidian, and basalt. Studies of the corrosion of natural glass attempt to characterize both the nature of alteration products and the reaction kinetics. Information available on natural glass was then compared to corresponding information on the corrosion of nuclear waste glasses, specifically to resolve two key questions: (1) whether one or more natural glasses behave similarly to nuclear waste glasses in laboratory tests, and (2) how these similarities can be used to support projections of the long-term corrosion of nuclear waste glasses. The corrosion behavior of basaltic glasses was most similar to that of nuclear waste glasses, but the corrosion of tektite and obsidian glasses involves certain processes that also occur during the corrosion of nuclear waste glasses. The reactions and processes that control basalt glass dissolution are similar to those that are important in nuclear waste glass dissolution. The key reaction of the overall corrosion mechanism is network hydrolysis, which eventually breaks down the glass network structure that remains after the initial ion-exchange and diffusion processes. This review also highlights some unresolved issues related to the application of an analogue approach to predicting long-term behavior of nuclear waste glass corrosion, such as discrepancies between experimental and field-based estimates of kinetic parameters for basaltic glasses.},
doi = {10.2172/12000},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/12000}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 1999},
month = {Wed Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 1999}
}