ARNO Project: Analysis of radionuclide and organic interactions for radioactive waste disposals performance assessment
[2020-2023]

The main objective of this project is to analyse experimentally and theoretically the effect of organic ligands on the solubility and mobility of radioactive elements, under the chemical conditions expected in different radioactive waste storage concepts.

The importance of organic ligands in the migration of contaminants depends on the source (type and concentration of organic) and surrounding materials, which provide the physicochemical conditions of the environment (pH, Eh, ionic strength, type of ion in solution). This means that the behaviour is site specific, and only through the understanding of processes at the mechanistic level, the knowledge can be extrapolated to different scenarios.

To develop robust predictive models, a detailed experimental plan under a wide range of physical-chemical conditions, to provide their validation and implementation is needed. To do so, a solid understanding of all the actors and mechanisms controlling RN migration and solubility in the presence of organic is required. The goal of the project is to provide solubility and sorption thermodynamic parameters and the application of mechanistic models for the interpretation of experimental results.