Geochemical impact of a low-pH cement liner on the near field of a repository for spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste

The presented calculations provide information on the extent of pH fronts, on the sequence and extent of mineral phase transformations, and on porosity changes on cement-clay interfaces. It was found that the thickness of the zone containing significant mineralogical alterations is at most a few tens of centimeters thick in both the bentonite and the Opalinus Clay adjacent to the liner. Near both interfaces, bentonite-concrete liner and concrete liner-Opalinus Clay, the precipitation of minerals causes a reduction in the porosity. The effect is more pronounced and faster at the concrete liner-Opalinus Clay interface. The simulations reveal that significant pH-changes (i.e. pH > 9) in bentonite and Opalinus Clay are limited to small zones, less than 10 cm thick at the end of the simulations. It is not to be expected that the zone of elevated pH will extend much further at longer times.