Impact of iron on nuclear glass alteration in geological repository conditions: A multiscale approach

Interactions between nuclear glass and Fe were investigated in a clayey environment to better understand the mechanisms and driving forces controlling the long-term behavior of high-level waste glass in a geological repository. An integrated experiment involving a Glass–Iron–Clay (GIC) stack was run at a laboratory scale in anoxic conditions for 2 years and the interfaces were characterized by a multiscale approach using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman microspectroscopy and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy at the SLS Synchrotron. The characterization of glass alteration patterns on cross sections revealed an increase in glass alteration with the Fe content and the proximity between the glass and Fe. The alteration layers are polyphase and stratified with an inner porous gel layer incorporating Fe and an outer layer composed of nanocrystalline Fe-silicates. Several mechanisms which could affect the glass alteration kinetics and the transport properties of the alteration layer are proposed to explain this pattern: (i) consumption of hydrolyzed silica by precipitation of Fe-silicates; (ii) penetration of Fe within the gel porosity probably as precipitates such as Fe oxyhydroxide or Fe-silicates. These new data may imply some consequences when considering the long-term behavior of glass in geological disposal conditions.