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Improving the Performance of Engineering Barriers in Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities: Role of Nano-materials

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Handbook of Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

Abstract

The last step in any radioactive waste management practice is the disposal activity which is designed to ensure isolation of these wastes under controlled conditions over extended time scale. Current designs of radioactive waste disposal facilities rely on the containment and confinement strategy through the use of multi-barrier concept in which engineering and natural barriers function to ensure long-term safe practice of the disposal activity. The main target of this work is to present the current efforts in understating the role nanoparticles in enhancing or retarding the transport of radionuclides in engineering and natural barriers. Within this context, the radioactive waste classification system and its relation to the disposal option will be introduced. The features and limitations of different disposal options will be summarized. The safety functions and the design criteria for different engineering barriers will be overviewed and the performance of different materials used in these barriers will be summarized. Recent efforts in characterizing and testing the role of natural nanoparticles either intrinsic or pseudo will be summarized. The role of synthetic nano-materials to improve the performance of cement-based wasteform will be highlighted. Finally, some concluded remarks on the required future investigations to decide on the application of synthetic nano-materials in the disposal environment will be drawn.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hot Laboratory Center, Atomic Energy Authority of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt

    R. O. Abdel Rahman, S. S. Metwally & A. M. El-Kamash

Authors
  1. R. O. Abdel Rahman
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  2. S. S. Metwally
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  3. A. M. El-Kamash
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. O. Abdel Rahman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry Science, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico

    Oxana Vasilievna Kharissova

  2. Instituto de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Leticia Myriam Torres-Martínez

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico

    Boris Ildusovich Kharisov

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Abdel Rahman, R.O., Metwally, S.S., El-Kamash, A.M. (2021). Improving the Performance of Engineering Barriers in Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities: Role of Nano-materials. In: Kharissova, O.V., Torres-Martínez, L.M., Kharisov, B.I. (eds) Handbook of Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36268-3_79

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