Publications related to High-level waste

Thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone under thermal changes

Underground storage of radioactive waste is consensually recognised as the safest storage solution by European and worldwide countries relying mainly or partially on nuclear energy production. Over twenty years of research led by the French national agency ...

EPFL2024

Evolution of water content and suction of Opalinus Clay from recovery at the drilling site to handling in the laboratory

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Angelica Tuttolomondo

Advanced geotechnical engineering applications, such as shale gas extraction, CO2 geological sequestration, and geological radioactive waste storage, often involve various types of shales located at significant depths. Shales exhibit mechanical properties ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

A FEM modelling workflow to simulate THM effects in the rock around nuclear waste packages

Matthias Timothee Stanislas Wojnarowicz

High-level waste, stemming from nuclear electricity generation poses significant environmental and safety concerns. Currently, high-level wastes are stored in interim facilities needing constant monitoring and waiting for a definitive solution. Deep geolog ...

EPFL2024

Microbial hydrogen sinks in the sand-bentonite backfill material for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste

Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, Manon Frutschi, Nicolas Louis Maurice Jacquemin, Simiao Wang, Camille Aude Rolland, Niels Burzan, Aislinn Ann Boylan

The activity of subsurface microorganisms can be harnessed for engineering projects. For instance, the Swiss radioactive waste repository design can take advantage of indigenous microorganisms to tackle the issue of a hydrogen gas (H2) phase pressure build ...

Frontiers Media SA2024

Hydro-Mechanical Characterization of a Shale by Unusually High-Pressure Oedometric Tests

Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

The note presents selected results of an experimental campaign conducted with the aim to investigate the hydro-mechanical behaviour of a shale recovered at a depth of about 900 m below the ground. High-pressure oedometric tests were performed to investigat ...

Wei Wu, Universität für Bodenkultur2023

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Water Exchange of Opalinus Clay Samples

Alessio Ferrari, Eleni Stavropoulou, Qazim Llabjani, Vincenzo Sergio Vespo

Opalinus Clay is a fine-grained sedimentary geomaterial with a mineral composition consisting mainly of silicates, carbonates and quartz. Due to its favourable barrier properties, this geomaterial has been selected as the host rock for the underground disp ...

Wei Wu, Universität für Bodenkultur2023

Physical characterization of fault rocks within the Opalinus Clay formation

Marie Estelle Solange Violay, Luis Felipe Orellana Espinoza, Christophe Nussbaum

Near-surface disposal of radioactive waste in shales is a promising option to safeguard the population and environment. However, natural faults intersecting these geological formations can potentially affect the long-term isolation of the repositories. Thi ...

Nature Research2022

Growth and viability of microorganisms in bentonite and their potential activity in deep geological repository environments

Niels Burzan

Radioactive waste is among the most dangerous anthropogenic waste and its safe disposal is a challenging multi-generational task. Many nations have sought for the peaceful application of nuclear fission for the reliable production of electric energy to pow ...

EPFL2021

Strategies for a Circular Economy in the Construction and Demolition Sector: Identifying the Factors Affecting the Recommendation of Recycled Concrete

Claudia Rebeca Binder Signer, Ivo Philippe Baur, Valeria Superti, Ralph Hansmann, Cynthia Houmani

With increasing urbanisation, new approaches such as the Circular Economy (CE) are needed to reduce resource consumption. In Switzerland, Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste accounts for the largest portion of waste (84%). Beyond limiting the depletion o ...

2021

Studies on the mechanical evolution of compacted bentonite subjected to environmental actions

Jose Antonio Bosch Llufriu

Deep geological disposal is currently the most feasible option for the long-term isolation of radioactive waste, consisting in emplacing the waste into tunnels or drifts excavated at great depths in suitable geological formations. The use of bentonite, a h ...

EPFL2021

Effect of the mineralogical composition on the elastoplastic hydromechanical response of Opalinus Clay shale

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

Opalinus Clay is the shale currently under investigation as the host formation for geological radioactive waste disposal in Switzerland. Its hydromechanical response has been widely studied, and the experimental results show a range of values whose dispers ...

2021

Structural performance and mechanical properties investigation of spent nuclear fuel rods under static and dynamic bending loads

Efstathios Vlassopoulos

Currently, most Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) is kept safely in storage either at on-site facilities or at centralized interim storage sites. Moreover, many countries face delays in implementing their waste management programmes for SNF and high-level waste dis ...

EPFL2021

Bentonite clay barriers in nuclear waste repositories

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Jose Antonio Bosch Llufriu

Deep disposal of high-level radioactive waste is the preferred solution worldwide for the long-term disposal of nuclear waste. This concept involves a series of geological and engineered barriers that provide isolation of the waste from the biosphere. Most ...

EDP SCIENCES2020

The shear strength of Opalinus Clay shale in the remoulded state

Alessio Ferrari

The Opalinus Clay shale formation is considered as a potential host geomaterial for the Swiss deep geological repository for radioactive waste. It presents different facies and it is characterised by a multi-scale heterogeneous composition, by a typical fi ...

2020

High-Fidelity Determination of Nuclide Inventories for Radioactive Waste Disposal

Valentyn Bykov

The general license application (RBG) for the Swiss deep geological repository will be submitted in 2024. Furthermore, the decommissioning of the nuclear power plants (NPPs) is coming soon, with the Mühleberg NPP (KKM) scheduled to shut down in 2019. In su ...

EPFL2019

Anisotropic behaviour of shallow opalinus clay

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci, Alberto Minardi

Opalinus Clay shale, the selected host geomaterial of a high-level radioactive waste repository in Switzerland, was sourced at shallow depth in a borehole in the northern part of the country. Pairs of specimens, retrieved from the same depth were prepared ...

Springer Verlag2019

Impact of Mineralogical Composition on Geotechnical Properties of Opalinus Clay

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

Opalinus Clay is the selected host geomaterial for the construction of underground geological disposals for radioactive waste in Switzerland. The formation has been studied in several sites, i.e. the Mont Terri laboratory, and several boreholes in the nort ...

2019

H2-fuelled microbial metabolism in Opalinus Clay

Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, Luca Loreggian, Niels Burzan, Aislinn Ann Boylan, Carla Perez Mon

In Switzerland, the Opalinus Clay formation is considered the most likely host rock for a deep geological repository for nuclear waste. In deep geological repositories, H2 is expected to be the most abundant gas formed from the degradation of waste and fro ...

2019

Hydro-mechanical behaviour of shallow Opalinus Clay shale

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

In Switzerland, Opalinus Clay shale has been selected as the host formation for radioactive waste disposal. The minimum required depth of the repository is related to the long-lasting isolation required for the disposal (1 million years). During this perio ...

2019

Hydro-mechanical response of Opalinus Clay shale: dependency on composition and burial depth

Eleonora Crisci

Shales are sedimentary formation currently studied for their involvement in many geo-energy related applications, such as radioactive waste disposal, CO2 sequestration, oil and gas extraction. In Switzerland the Opalinus Clay shale has been selected has ho ...

EPFL2019