Swelling pressure and leaching behaviors of synthetic bituminized waste products with various salt contents under a constant-volume condition

Abstract

<p>We investigated the swelling pressure of synthetic bituminized waste products (BWPs) and the amount of Na⁺ in the leachate from them under a constant-volume condition when the BWPs were in contact with water to understand influences of salt content on the surrounding environments after disposal of radioactive BWPs in a geological repository. The observation of the cross section of the synthetic BWP specimens revealed that micropores, which were formed after soluble salts leached out from the specimens, shrank and deformed near the surface of the specimens. The salt content in the synthetic BWP specimens depended on the amount of water taken up, indicating that an increase in the amount of water led to increases in the swelling pressure and the cumulative amount of Na⁺ in the leachate. It was found that the shrinkage and deformation of the micropores near the surface of the synthetic BWP specimens that arose under the constant-volume condition significantly influenced increases in the swelling pressure and cumulative amount of Na⁺ in the leachate.</p