Modelling the Consumption of Oxygen by Container Corrosion and Reaction with Fe(II)

Abstract

AbstractA model is described that predicts the rate of O2 consumption in a sealed nuclear fuel waste disposal vault as a result of container corrosion, reaction with biotite and the oxidation of organics and other oxidizable impurities in the clay. The most important reactions leading to the consumption of O2 for Cu containers in a conceptual Canadian disposal vault are container corrosion, the oxidation of dissolved Cu(I) and the oxidation of organics and other impurities in the clay. Consumption of O2 by the oxidation of dissolved Fe(II) from biotite is significant in backfill materials containing crushed granite and in the rock itself. The O2 initially trapped in the disposal vault is predicted to be consumed in between 50 and 670 a.