Natural Analogues of Cement: Overview of the Unique Systems in Jordan

In many radioactive waste repository designs, cement-based materials are expected to dominate the repository and models of cement evolution predict that leaching of the cementitious material in the repository by groundwater will produce an initial stage of hyperalkaline (pH∼13.3) leachates, dominated by alkali hydroxides, followed by a longer period of portlandite and C-S-H (CaO-SiO₂-H₂O) buffered (pH∼12.5) leachates. It has also been predicted that, as the hyperalkaline porewater leaches out of the near-field, significant interaction with the repository host rock and bentonite buffer and backfill may occur. This could possibly lead to deterioration of those features for which the host rock formation and bentonite were originally chosen (e.g. low groundwater flux, high radionuclide retardation capacity etc). The precise implications of cement leachate/repository host rock interaction has been studied in the laboratory and in underground research laboratories (URLs) and this work has been supported by study of natural cements in Jordan. These natural cements have been produced by the combustion of organic-rich clay biomicrites and are very close analogues of industrial cement. Following interaction with groundwaters, natural hyperalkaline leachates are produced and these move out of the cement into the surrounding host rock, subsequently interacting with and altering it.