Microbially-influenced changes in repositories of nuclear waste: biofouling and biocorrosion of metal canisters

随着当前的石油和天然气能源危机，核能重新浮出水面，成为最高效、最清洁的替代能源之一。然而，这项技术的主要问题之一是核废料。深层地质储存库是一种多屏障系统，用于储存放射性废物，方法是将废物封装在由压实膨润土包围的金属容器(如铜)中，并将其放置在500-1000米深的地方。该项目将研究微生物过程对这些金属容器腐蚀的影响。该项目旨在结合电位、光谱(ATR-FTIR、Micro-FTIR、ToF-SIMS、深度剖面XPS)、显微镜(TEM、SEM-EDX)和微生物学技术来研究生物膜和生物腐蚀对金属表面的影响。

With the current oil and gas energy crisis, nuclear energy has resurfaced as one of the most efficient and cleanest alternatives. However, one of the major concerns of this technology is nuclear waste. Deep geological repositories are multi-barrier systems to deposit radioactive waste, by encapsulating the waste in metal containers (e.g. copper) surrounded by compacted bentonite and emplacing them at 500-1000 m depth. This project will study the impact of microbial processes on the corrosion of these metal containers. The project aims to study the effects of biofilms and biocorrosion on the metal surfaces using a combination of potentiometric, spectroscopic (ATR-FTIR, micro-FTIR, ToF-SIMS, depth-profile XPS), microscopic (TEM, SEM-EDX) and microbiological techniques.