Geological repositories: scientific priorities and potential high-technology transfer from the space and physics sectors

Direito, S.; Clark, S. J.; Cousins, C. R.; Fujita, Yoshiko; Gluyas, Jon; Harley, Simon L.; Holmes, Richard J.; Hutchinson, Ian; Kudryavtsev, V. A.; Lloyd, Jonathan R.; Main, Ian; Naylor, Mark; Payler, Samuel J.; Smith, Nick; Spooner, N. J. C.; Telfer, S.; Thompson, L. F.; Wouters, Katinka; Wragg, Joanna; Cockell, Charles S.

doi:10.1180/minmag.2015.079.6.41

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In a series of meetings, key challenges in understanding the processes that influence the establishment, operation, and monitoring of geological repositories were identified and prioritized. An outcome was the identification of technology transfer and instrument development from the space and physics sector into geological repositories (Direito et al, 2015 ). This network also provided funding in the form of travel, early career, and instrumentation awards in order to advance science and technology collaborations related to deep subsurface processes and geological repositories.…”

Section: Technology Development and Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

The UK Centre for Astrobiology: A Virtual Astrobiology Centre. Accomplishments and Lessons Learned, 2011–2016

et al. 2018

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The UK Centre for Astrobiology (UKCA) was set up in 2011 as a virtual center to contribute to astrobiology research, education, and outreach. After 5 years, we describe this center and its work in each of these areas. Its research has focused on studying life in extreme environments, the limits of life on Earth, and implications for habitability elsewhere. Among its research infrastructure projects, UKCA has assembled an underground astrobiology laboratory that has hosted a deep subsurface planetary analog program, and it has developed new flow-through systems to study extraterrestrial aqueous environments. UKCA has used this research backdrop to develop education programs in astrobiology, including a massive open online course in astrobiology that has attracted over 120,000 students, a teacher training program, and an initiative to take astrobiology into prisons. In this paper, we review these activities and others with a particular focus on providing lessons to others who may consider setting up an astrobiology center, institute, or science facility. We discuss experience in integrating astrobiology research into teaching and education activities. Key Words: Astrobiology—Centre—Education—Subsurface—Analog research. Astrobiology 18, 224–243.

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Section: Technology Development and Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

The UK Centre for Astrobiology: A Virtual Astrobiology Centre. Accomplishments and Lessons Learned, 2011–2016

et al. 2018

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“…Topical issues associated with CO 2 (g) dissolved in aqueous solutions have also attracted considerable attention, especially regarding solubility. ,− There has been special interest in the general importance of electrolyte interactions, scrubbing technologies, , potential scale-formation, ,, modeling chemical processes in rock pore waters, , the exploitation of saline aquifers for carbon capture and storage, − and ocean acidification. ,, Such investigations typify the need for generalized thermodynamic modeling capabilities in aqueous chemistry for simulating the variety and complexity of the many prospective practical applications.…”

Section: Promising Recent Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermodynamic Modeling of Aqueous Electrolyte Systems: Current Status

May

Rowland

2017

J. Chem. Eng. Data

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The current status of thermodynamic modeling in aqueous chemistry is reviewed. A number of recent developments hold considerable promise, but these need to be weighed against ongoing difficulties with existing theoretical modeling frameworks. Some key issues are identified and discussed. These include long-standing difficulties in choosing the right program code, in comparing alternatives objectively, in implementing models as published, and in wasting effort on numerous proposed “modifications” and/or “improvements”. There needs to be greater awareness of the major limitations that such assorted variations in modeling functions imply for practical thermodynamic modeling purposes. They typically lack proper substantiation, fail to distinguish between cause and effect, and are presented in ways that all-too-often cannot be falsified. Numerical correlations in particular permit overoptimistic assertions based only on “satisfactory” fits, neglecting the dictum that regression analyses can be used to discredit hypotheses but not to prove them. The risks of “model tuning” should always be acknowledged and minimized. Recognition of the uncertainties in data that have not been confirmed by independent measurement needs to be redoubled. Modeling frameworks incapable of explicit trace activity coefficient prediction should no longer be regarded as credible. The current modeling paradigm evidently has to be reassessed, hopefully to find better ways forward, including new protocols which command sufficient support to warrant IUPAC endorsement.

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“…Briefly, in such facilities, the waste is placed in conditioned galleries buried in deep geological repositories in specific host-rock environments. For instance, depending on the country and available options in saline, clay, or granitic formations, different options are considered concerning the host-rock [2][3][4][5]. This disposal strategy involves an Engineered Barrier System (EBS) designed to mitigate the potential release of radionuclides from the repository to the nearand far-field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adsorption of Strontium onto Synthetic Iron(III) Oxide up to High Ionic Strength Systems

Garcia

Lützenkirchen

Huguenel³

et al. 2021

Minerals

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In this work, the adsorption behavior of Sr onto a synthetic iron(III) oxide (hematite with traces of goethite) has been studied. This solid, which might be considered a representative of Fe3+ solid phases (iron corrosion products), was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and its specific surface area was determined. Both XRD and XPS data are consistent with a mixed solid containing more than 90% hematite and 10% goethite. The solid was further characterized by fast acid-base titrations at different NaCl concentrations (from 0.1 to 5 M). Subsequently, for each background NaCl concentration used for the acid-base titrations, Sr-uptake experiments were carried out involving two different levels of Sr concentration (1·10−5 and 5·10−5 M, respectively) at constant solid concentration (7.3 g/L) as a function of −log([H+]/M). A Surface Complexation Model (SCM) was fitted to the experimental data, following a coupled Pitzer/surface complexation approach. The Pitzer model was applied to aqueous species. A Basic Stern Model was used for interfacial electrostatics of the system, which includes ion-specific effects via ion-specific pair-formation constants, whereas the Pitzer-approach involves ion-interaction parameters that enter the model through activity coefficients for aqueous species. A simple 1-pK model was applied (generic surface species, denoted as >XOH−1/2). Parameter fitting was carried out using the general parameter estimation software UCODE, coupled to a modified version of FITEQL2. The combined approach describes the full set of data reasonably well and involves two Sr-surface complexes, one of them including chloride. Monodentate and bidentate models were tested and were found to perform equally well. The SCM is particularly able to account for the incomplete uptake of Sr at higher salt levels, supporting the idea that adsorption models conventionally used in salt concentrations below 1 M are applicable to high salt concentrations if the correct activity corrections for the aqueous species are applied. This generates a self-consistent model framework involving a practical approach for semi-mechanistic SCMs. The model framework of coupling conventional electrostatic double layer models for the surface with a Pitzer approach for the bulk solution earlier tested with strongly adsorbing solutes is here shown to be successful for more weakly adsorbing solutes.

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Geological repositories: scientific priorities and potential high-technology transfer from the space and physics sectors

Cited by 4 publications

References 54 publications

The UK Centre for Astrobiology: A Virtual Astrobiology Centre. Accomplishments and Lessons Learned, 2011–2016

The UK Centre for Astrobiology: A Virtual Astrobiology Centre. Accomplishments and Lessons Learned, 2011–2016

Thermodynamic Modeling of Aqueous Electrolyte Systems: Current Status

Adsorption of Strontium onto Synthetic Iron(III) Oxide up to High Ionic Strength Systems

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