Influence of Hydrogen in the Presence of Organic Matter on Bacterial Activity Under Radioactive Waste Disposal Conditions

Abstract

According to the French design for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), waste will be emplaced in an environment involving metallic materials into a geological clay formation. The presence of microorganisms has recently been evidenced in such environments. Therefore, based on current knowledge, the introduction of microbial species during the construction and operational phases, as well as the survival of bacteria after the disposal closure, have to be accounted for within the context of safety assessment. Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) activity is notably expected to have an impact on corrosion processes, and thus influence the evolution of metallic and clay materials involved in a HLW disposal cell. The present work investigates the potential development of a SRB, Thermodesulfovibrio hydrogeniphilus, in order to better assess its metabolism in the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) that is representative of the DOM present in an argillaceous pore water, as well as hydrogen that will be produced by the anaerobic corrosion of metallic materials. After 49 days of batch experiments, hydrogen enhances the bacterial development in presence of a low amount of DOM, whereas the DOM alone does not seem to sustain bacteria activities.