Electrokinetic generation of iron-rich barriers in soils: realising the potential for nuclear site management and decommissioning

Following earlier field-scale pilot work on nuclear site materials in the late 2000s, there has recently been renewed research and industry interest in the application of electrokinetic technologies for nuclear site management and remediation in the UK. One relatively novel application of electrokinetics is the use of sacrificial steel electrodes (coupled with an in situ generated pH–Eh gradient in the treated material) to precipitate sub-surface iron-rich barriers for groundwater and/or leachate containment, which could be used to grout or contain contaminated fluids in the sub-surface on working nuclear sites or sites undergoing decommissioning. Here, we report previously unpublished data from two work programmes exploring the higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL) application of this electrokinetic iron-barrier approach to materials typical of those found in the subsurface of the Sellafield nuclear licensed site, UK. The first programme, funded by the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), assessed the electrokinetic generation of iron-rich barriers at metre + scale in simulated Sellafield materials, while the second programme, funded under the current UK TRANSCEND consortium project, examined electrokinetic iron-barrier formation at smaller (