CIEMAT Publications

Abstract

The safety case for radioactive waste repositories requires a quantitative understanding of radionuclide sorption and transport processes in geological materials, supported by reliable experimental data. This work introduces a proof-of-concept of a smart sorption database (SD) for cesium retention in crystalline rocks. Beyond compiling and structuring experimental data, the SD is designed to correlate distribution coefficients (Kd) with key physicochemical properties of solid phases and their equilibrium water chemistry, thereby enabling the identification of controlling factors and trends.

The database currently contains approximately 1,000 Kd entries for granites from diverse Countries and sites, as well as for granite minerals, which have been preliminarily analysed using statistical methods, showing an example of its possible uses. Its open structure aspires to promote mechanistic modelling combined with artificial intelligence driven analyses, while remaining extensible to radionuclides with more complex chemistries.