Deep Self-Burial of Radioactive Wastes by Rock-Melting Capsules

Logan, Stanley E.

doi:10.13182/nt74-a31367

Cited by 27 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This HTVDD differs from earlier 'deep rock melting' schemes in that the waste itself does not become incorporated into the re-solidified host rock and no unconstrained sinking of the packages [7] occurs. The major benefit of such deep disposal is that it can locate the waste in a host rock in which any hydrous fluids present in fracture systems have been physically and chemically isolated from near-surface groundwaters for millions of years -a situation that is not likely to change in the next 10 5 years.…”

Section: High Temperature Very Deep Disposal (Htvdd)mentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Disposal of radioactive waste in deep or very deep boreholes in the continental crust offers many advantages [4] and several schemes have been proposed for the secure disposal of small to moderate volumes of HLW [e.g., 1, 2,5,6,7]. Possibly the most robust and potentially safest of these is a proposed high temperature, encapsulated, very deep disposal [2] that could be well suited to the HGRs and VLLRs separated from HLW/SNF.…”

Section: High Temperature Very Deep Disposal (Htvdd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Granite Recrystallization - The Key to an Alternative Strategy for HLW Disposal?

Gibb

2003

MRS Proc.

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An alternative strategy is proposed for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and other forms of high-level waste (HLW) whereby the integrity of a mined and engineered repository for the bulk of the waste need be preserved for only a few thousand years. This is achieved by separating the particularly problematic components, notably heat generating radionuclides (HGRs) and very long lived radionuclides (VLLRs) from the waste prior to disposal. Such a solution requires a satisfactory means of disposing of the relatively minor amounts of HGRs and VLLRs removed from the waste. This could be by high-temperature very deep disposal (HTVDD) in boreholes in the continental crust [1,2]. However, the viability of HTVDD, and hence the key to the entire strategy, depends on whether sufficient melting of granite host rock can occur at suitable temperatures and whether the melt can be completely recrystallized. The high-temperature, high-pressure experiments reported here demonstrate that granite can be partially melted and completely recrystallized on a time scale of years, as opposed to millennia as widely believed. Furthermore, both can be achieved at temperatures and on a time scale appropriate to the disposal of packages of heat generating HLW. It is therefore concluded that the proposed strategy, which offers, environmental, safety and economic benefits, could be a viable option for a substantial proportion of HLWs.

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Section: High Temperature Very Deep Disposal (Htvdd)mentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: High Temperature Very Deep Disposal (Htvdd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Granite Recrystallization - The Key to an Alternative Strategy for HLW Disposal?

Gibb

2003

MRS Proc.

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“…An alternative scheme for deep geological burial is self-burial by deep rock melting, in which the radioactive decay heat of spent fuel preserved in the spherical container is used to make a waste container melt into the deep rock. This concept has a long history with a great deal of research [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] showing that self-burial by deep rock melting is feasible both theoretically and practically. Much more attention has been paid to this kind of scheme recently and it may develop into an ideal scheme for SNF disposal in the near future.…”

Section: Self-burial By Deep Rock Meltingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of Self-Burial of a Radioactive Waste Container by Deep Rock Melting

Chen

Hao

Chen

2013

Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations

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Aiming at the problem of radioactive waste disposal, the concept and mechanism of self-burial by deep rock melting are presented. The rationality and feasibility of self-burial by deep rock melting are analyzed by comparing with deep geological burial. The heat threshold during the process of contact melting around a spherical heat source is defined. The descent velocities and burial depths of spherical waste containers with varying radius are calculated. The calculated depth is much smaller than that obtained in the related literature. The scheme is compared with the deep geological burial that is currently carried out by the main nuclear countries. It is found that, at the end of melting, a radioactive waste container can reach deep strata that are isolated from groundwater.

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“…Furthermore, a scheme was proposed [16,17] that makes use of the decay heat generated by the high-level waste to partially melt the granitic host rock (which later recrystallizes) in the bottom disposal section of a 5 km deep vertical borehole. (Similar concepts involving rock melting and self-burial of the waste have been proposed as early as 1974 [18].) In 2003, the interdisciplinary MIT study on the future of nuclear power [19] recommended that deep vertical borehole disposal be investigated as an alternative to mined repositories.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste in Deep Horizontal Drillholes

Muller

Finsterle²,

Grimsich

et al. 2019

Energies

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Spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste can be disposed in deep horizontal drillholes in sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous rocks. Horizontal drillhole disposal has safety, operational and economic benefits: the repository is deep in the brine-saturated zone far below aquifers in a reducing environment of formations that can be shown to have been isolated from the surface for exceedingly long times; its depth provides safety against inadvertent intrusion, earthquakes and near-surface perturbations; it can be placed close to the reactors and interim storage facilities, minimizing transportation; disposal costs per ton of waste can be kept substantially lower than for mined repositories by its smaller size, reduced infrastructure needs and staged implementation; and, if desired, the waste could be retrieved using “fishing” technology. In the proposed disposal concept, corrosion-resistant canisters containing unmodified fuel assemblies from commercial reactors would be placed end-to-end in up to 50 cm diameter horizontal drillholes, a configuration that reduces mechanical stresses and keeps the temperatures below the boiling point of the brine. Other high-level wastes, such as capsules containing 137Cs and 90Sr, can be disposed in small-diameter horizontal drillholes. We provide an overview of this novel disposal concept and its technology, discuss some of its safety aspects and compare it to mined repositories and the deep vertical borehole disposal concept.

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Deep Self-Burial of Radioactive Wastes by Rock-Melting Capsules

Cited by 27 publications

References 7 publications

Granite Recrystallization - The Key to an Alternative Strategy for HLW Disposal?

Granite Recrystallization - The Key to an Alternative Strategy for HLW Disposal?

A Study of Self-Burial of a Radioactive Waste Container by Deep Rock Melting

Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste in Deep Horizontal Drillholes

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