The corrosion behavior of nonferrous metals in deep geological repository environments

Abstract

The advanced technologies of modern civilization produce radioactive wastes that require careful disposal if they cannot be recycled. These materials can originate from a variety of activities, such as scientific research, medicine, or nuclear power generation and, as such, can result in numerous waste forms. In this paper, the corrosion behavior of several less‐common metals is studied, specifically: aluminum, copper, lead, magnesium, zinc, and zirconium, all under simulated cementitious environments. The data reported rely on the production of hydrogen as a corrosion end‐product to calculate the uniform corrosion rate as a function of time. At 50°C, in either young cement water (pH 13.5) or saturated portlandite (pH 12.5) and after approximately 2 years of exposure, magnesium was found to corrode at ∼10 µm/year; aluminum at 1 µm/year (portlandite only); zinc at ∼100 nm/year; lead at <1 nm/year and both copper and zirconium at less than 0.1 nm/year.