Electrokinetic generation of iron-rich barriers in soils: realising the potential for nuclear site management and decommissioning
Electrokinetic generation of iron-rich barriers in soils: realising the potential for nuclear site management and decommissioning
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土壤中动电生成富铁屏障：实现核电站管理和退役的潜力
DOI：
10.1039/d2va00308b
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发表时间：
2023
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Purkis J
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作者：
Purkis J
继2000年代后期对核场地材料的早期现场规模试点工作之后，最近英国重新开始研究和工业界对将电动技术应用于核场地管理和补救的兴趣。电动力学的一个相对新颖的应用是使用牺牲钢电极（与处理材料中原位产生的pH-Eh梯度相结合）沉淀地下富铁屏障，用于地下水和/或渗滤液的密封，可用于在正在工作的核设施或正在退役的核设施的地下灌浆或容纳污染流体。在这里，我们报告了以前未发表的两个工作计划的数据，这些工作计划探索了这种电动铁屏障方法在英国塞拉菲尔德核许可场地地下发现的典型材料的更高技术准备水平（TRL）应用。第一个项目由英国国家核实验室（NNL）资助，评估了模拟Sellafield材料在米+尺度上的富铁屏障的电动力生成，而第二个项目由当前的英国TRANSCEND财团项目资助，研究了较小（<1米）尺度上的电动力铁屏障形成，但在真实的现场材料中。这两个项目都表明，富铁屏障可以在合理的时间尺度（几个月）内，在实际的地下材料（沙子）中，在类似于环境中天然水的电解质中，方便地和电动地以不同的几何形状生长。电压要求低（< 1v cm−1），能源和耗材成本在米以上规模下不超过个位数或数十美元。然而，需要进一步的工作来评估形成地下屏障的铁沉淀的寿命，并探索（特定地点）现场应用所需的几何形状和规模的屏障生成。
Following earlier field-scale pilot work on nuclear site materials in the late 2000s, there has recently been renewed research and industry interest in the application of electrokinetic technologies for nuclear site management and remediation in the UK. One relatively novel application of electrokinetics is the use of sacrificial steel electrodes (coupled with an in situ generated pH–Eh gradient in the treated material) to precipitate sub-surface iron-rich barriers for groundwater and/or leachate containment, which could be used to grout or contain contaminated fluids in the sub-surface on working nuclear sites or sites undergoing decommissioning. Here, we report previously unpublished data from two work programmes exploring the higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL) application of this electrokinetic iron-barrier approach to materials typical of those found in the subsurface of the Sellafield nuclear licensed site, UK. The first programme, funded by the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), assessed the electrokinetic generation of iron-rich barriers at metre + scale in simulated Sellafield materials, while the second programme, funded under the current UK TRANSCEND consortium project, examined electrokinetic iron-barrier formation at smaller (<1 m) scale, but in real site materials. Both programmes indicate that iron-rich barriers can be conveniently and electrokinetically grown in different geometries over reasonable timescales (months) in realistic site subsurface materials (sands), in electrolytes similar to natural waters found in the environment. Voltage requirements are low (<1 V cm−1) with energy and consumables costs of no more than single-digit or tens of US dollars at the metre-plus scale. Further work is needed however to assess the longevity of the iron precipitates forming the subsurface barrier, and to explore barrier generation at the geometries and scales required for (site specific) field application.