Abstract
Hydrogen gas is generated from cementitious waste forms by radiolysis of water. In the case of low level radioactive waste, gas yields have been confirmed to be sufficiently low by irradiation experiments. However, studies have suggested that the hydrogen generation rate in cementitious waste forms is larger than the rate calculated from the g-value (H2 yields for 100eV absorbed). In this paper, the factors that increase the gas generation were investigated quantitatively. Two factors were identified, the effect of an organic diethylene glycol which reacts with hydrogen radicals to produce hydrogen, and the effect of electrons generated in the cementitious matrix which decompose water to hydrogen. The hydrogen generation rate was confirmed to drop less than the rate calculated from the g-value when these factors were eliminated.
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Noshita, K., Nishi, T. & Matsuda, M. Generation Mechanism of Hydrogen Gas from Hardened Cement Paste by γ-Irradiation. MRS Online Proceedings Library 353, 921–926 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-353-921
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-353-921