Joint project: Umwandlungsmechanismen in Bentonitbarrieren - Subproject B: Einfluss von mikrobiellen Prozessen auf die Bentonitumwandlung

Concerning the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), bentonite can be used because of its high swelling capacity and its low hydraulic conductivity as geo-technical barrier and buffering material in between the waste-containing canister (technical barrier) and the surrounding host rock (geological barrier). There are still many gaps in process understanding of bentonite transformations, especially in dependence of different temperatures and pore waters. Within the joint-project UMB (“Umwandlungsmechanismen in Bentonitbarrieren”), the co-operation partner Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH (Repository Safety Analysis), the University of Greifswald (Institute for Geography and Geology), the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR, section of technical mineralogy), the Technical University of Munich (TUM; chair of theoretical chemistry, quantum chemistry) and the Helmholtz-Center Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR, Institute of Resource Ecology) are supposed to define criteria which facilitate the selection of suitable bentonites in order to use them in the deep geological repository of high-level radioactive waste. HZDR analyzed two different bentonites (B36 and SD80) regarding their microbial diversity and potential microbial activity. In dependence of repository-relevant parameters (temperature, pore water, presence of substrates), microcosm experiments were set up at the GRS, containing the respective bentonites and Opalinus Clay pore water or cap rock solution, respectively. The long-term batches were incubated one year and two years at different temperatures (25 °C, 60 °C and 90 °C) in gastight bottles. Additionally, HZDR set up B36 short-term microcosms with Opalinus Clay pore water, which incubated for three month at 30 °C with six sampling points monitoring the microbial diversity and geochemical parameters.
After one and two years of incubation at 25 °C, respectively, supplemented SD80 microcosms containing Opalinus Clay pore water showed the formation of black precipitates and fissures as well as the dominance of sulfate-reducing and spore-forming bacteria. The detected genera are able to reduce the present sulfate in order to form hydrogen sulfide. XRF spectroscopy analysis, done at the University of Greifswald, showed a decrease in sulfate concentration in the respective SD80 microcosms, supporting this surveillance. Similar observations were made for the two-year incubations. The microbial diversity of the B36 bentonite raw material is much different from the SD80 bentonite raw material. Similar to the diversity of SD80 bentonite, the microbial community of the B36 bentonite long-term incubations changed with respect to the applied pore water. Spore-forming organisms dominated the set ups which were supplied with Opalinus Clay pore water solution whereas halophilic microorganisms were found in set ups containing diluted cap rock solution. We were also successful in showing the dominance of thermophilic bacteria in Opalinus clay pore water-containing microcosms that incubated at 60 °C for two years. Additionally, we were able to enrich microorganism from Opalinus Clay pore water of both, B36 and SD80 bentonite long-term incubations. Similar to the long-term analysis, substrate-containing B36 short-term microcosms, containing Opalinus Clay pore water, showed also the dominance of spore-forming bacteria after three months of incubation. Furthermore, a slight decrease in lactate-concentration as well as an increase in ferrous iron and acetate-concentration was observed in the respective B36 microcosms. The presence of substrates and mesophilic incubation temperatures of 25 °C or 30 °C, respectively, promoted the growth of “microbial generalists” that are able to exist in a vegetative state. Extreme environmental conditions as elevated temperatures (60 °C) or high-salt concentrations promote the dominance of highly specialized microorganisms. Our data show, that the microbial diversity in the analyzed bentonites and, furthermore, the evolution of the respective microbial communities differs significantly from each other. Since not that much is known about intrinsic extremophilic microorganisms (metabolic activity and potential influence on the bentonite barrier material), our data stress the importance of further microbial investigations in order to prevent and reduce potential risks (e.g. corrosion, mineralogical changes), due to microbial activity within the repository.