Characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repository

The wide use of nuclear technology in Brazil generates radioactive waste that, in general, have low and medium levels of radiation. This requires efficient management to keep the environment, humans and future generations safe. CNEN coordinates the CENTENA project which will consist of the implement...

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Main Authors: Thais Braga Teixeira, Clédola Cássia Oliveira de Tello
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR) 2022-12-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
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Online Access:https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1956
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author Thais Braga Teixeira
Clédola Cássia Oliveira de Tello
author_facet Thais Braga Teixeira
Clédola Cássia Oliveira de Tello
author_sort Thais Braga Teixeira
collection DOAJ
description The wide use of nuclear technology in Brazil generates radioactive waste that, in general, have low and medium levels of radiation. This requires efficient management to keep the environment, humans and future generations safe. CNEN coordinates the CENTENA project which will consist of the implementation of the first national repository that will be a definitive solution for the storage of radioactive waste. It will be surface and multiple barriers, and bentonite will possibly compose the natural barrier, since it has good sorption capacity for several radionuclides and low hydraulic conductivity. This paper describes the practical work that followed the clay characterization protocol for use in a surface repository with calcium bentonite and proposes a future study to characterize the mixture of soil and bentonite with the addition of 8% and 15% clay in the soil in order to investigate what will be the best feasible combination to maintain the safety and economic viability of the project. XRD results confirmed the presence of montmorillonite, particle size analysis identified that 40% of the measured sample had an average particle size between 8.0 and 10.0 µm, the global average bentonite moisture was 14%, the high specific surface area value 82.741m2/g, the particle density value was 2.5287 ± 0.0057 g/cm³ and the result of the cation exchange capacity by the methylene blue adsorption method was 750 ± 18.71 mmol.kg-1. All these results indicated that calcium bentonite is a good natural material to be used in the Brazilian repository.
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spelling doaj-art-a87a039a5a174a2dab64e555c7e94c2b2025-08-20T02:39:21ZengBrazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences2319-06122022-12-01103B (Suppl.)10.15392/2319-0612.2022.19561574Characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repositoryThais Braga Teixeira0Clédola Cássia Oliveira de TelloCDTN - centro de desenvolvimento da tecnologia nuclearThe wide use of nuclear technology in Brazil generates radioactive waste that, in general, have low and medium levels of radiation. This requires efficient management to keep the environment, humans and future generations safe. CNEN coordinates the CENTENA project which will consist of the implementation of the first national repository that will be a definitive solution for the storage of radioactive waste. It will be surface and multiple barriers, and bentonite will possibly compose the natural barrier, since it has good sorption capacity for several radionuclides and low hydraulic conductivity. This paper describes the practical work that followed the clay characterization protocol for use in a surface repository with calcium bentonite and proposes a future study to characterize the mixture of soil and bentonite with the addition of 8% and 15% clay in the soil in order to investigate what will be the best feasible combination to maintain the safety and economic viability of the project. XRD results confirmed the presence of montmorillonite, particle size analysis identified that 40% of the measured sample had an average particle size between 8.0 and 10.0 µm, the global average bentonite moisture was 14%, the high specific surface area value 82.741m2/g, the particle density value was 2.5287 ± 0.0057 g/cm³ and the result of the cation exchange capacity by the methylene blue adsorption method was 750 ± 18.71 mmol.kg-1. All these results indicated that calcium bentonite is a good natural material to be used in the Brazilian repository.https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1956centena, surface repository, natural barrier, calcium bentonite, characterization
spellingShingle Thais Braga Teixeira
Clédola Cássia Oliveira de Tello
Characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repository
Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
centena, surface repository, natural barrier, calcium bentonite, characterization
title Characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repository
title_full Characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repository
title_fullStr Characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repository
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repository
title_short Characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repository
title_sort characterization of calcium bentonite to use as a natural barrier in a surface repository
topic centena, surface repository, natural barrier, calcium bentonite, characterization
url https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1956
work_keys_str_mv AT thaisbragateixeira characterizationofcalciumbentonitetouseasanaturalbarrierinasurfacerepository
AT cledolacassiaoliveiradetello characterizationofcalciumbentonitetouseasanaturalbarrierinasurfacerepository