Publications related to Investigation of the Intrinsic Permeability of MX-80 Bentonite through a 4-Scale Analysis of Its Fabric

A FEM modelling workflow to simulate THM effects in the rock around nuclear waste packages

High-level waste, stemming from nuclear electricity generation poses significant environmental and safety concerns. Currently, high-level wastes are stored in interim facilities needing constant monitoring and waiting for a definitive solution. Deep geolog ...

EPFL2024

Evolution of water content and suction of Opalinus Clay from recovery at the drilling site to handling in the laboratory

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Angelica Tuttolomondo

Advanced geotechnical engineering applications, such as shale gas extraction, CO2 geological sequestration, and geological radioactive waste storage, often involve various types of shales located at significant depths. Shales exhibit mechanical properties ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Hydro-Mechanical Characterization of a Shale by Unusually High-Pressure Oedometric Tests

Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

The note presents selected results of an experimental campaign conducted with the aim to investigate the hydro-mechanical behaviour of a shale recovered at a depth of about 900 m below the ground. High-pressure oedometric tests were performed to investigat ...

Wei Wu, Universität für Bodenkultur2023

Influence of Low- to Medium-Kaolinite Clay on the Durability of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) Concrete

Karen Scrivener, Matea Flegar

The kaolinite content is principally responsible for the durability performance of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3), which calls into question its global applicability. The clay supply has a significant impact on the LC3 system's reduced carbon footpri ...

MDPI2023

Creating the conditions for Western European petroculture: The Marshall Plan, the politics of the OEEC, and the transition from coal to oil

Nicolas Christophe Chachereau

In the postwar years, petroleum products pervaded more and more aspects of Western European life. In this article, we study the origins of this pervasive petroculture through the lens of the Marshall Plan/European Recovery Program (ERP), its Refinery Expan ...

2023

The effect of pore microstructure on strength and chloride ingress in blended cement based on low kaolin clay

Karen Scrivener, Diana Londoño Zuluaga

The objective of this study is to analyse the mechanical and durability properties of a high-performance mortars based on low grade kaolin clay and the effect of electrical conductivity and pore microstructure on the chloride penetration resistance. A tota ...

ELSEVIER2022

Paper of RILEM TC 282-CCL: mineralogical characterization methods for clay resources intended for use as supplementary cementitious material

Adrian Alujas Diaz, Ruben Anton Snellings, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Alastair Thomas Matthew Marsh

To respond to the rapid introduction and development of calcined clays as supplementary cementitious material (SCM), the toolbox of characterization methods for cementitious materials requires extension to raw clay characterization. Borrowing concepts and ...

SPRINGER2022

Properties and occurrence of clay resources for use as supplementary cementitious materials: a paper of RILEM TC 282-CCL

Adrian Alujas Diaz, Ruben Anton Snellings, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Alastair Thomas Matthew Marsh

The use of clays as resource of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) for a new generation of low-carbon cements and concretes is currently the subject of intense research efforts. To this purpose, a large number of clay resources have been explored, ...

SPRINGER2022

Oxidation of pyrite (FeS2) and troilite (FeS) impurities in kaolinitic clays after calcination

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

Valorisation of locally available clays for producing blended cements is crucial for a widespread adoption of sustainable binders incorporating these materials. In some places, clays can be intermixed with small amounts of iron sulfides, which could eventu ...

SPRINGER2022

Mechanistic classification and benchmarking of polyolefin depolymerization over silica-alumina-based catalysts

Mounir Driss Mensi, Paul Joseph Dyson, Antoine Philippe Van Muyden, Felix Daniel Bobbink, Wei-Tse Lee, Jed Russell Carullo

Carbon-carbon bond cleavage mechanisms play a key role in the selective deconstruction of alkanes and polyolefins. Here, we show that the product distribution, which encompasses carbon range and formation of unsaturated and isomerization products, serves a ...

Nature Research2022

Clay calcination technology: state-of-the-art review by the RILEM TC 282-CCL

Mohsen Ben Haha, Karen Scrivener, Shashank Bishnoi, François Henri Avet, Adrian Alujas Diaz, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Anuj Parashar, Alastair Thomas Matthew Marsh

The use of calcined clays as supplementary cementitious materials provides the opportunity to significantly reduce the cement industry's carbon burden; however, use at a global scale requires a deep understanding of the extraction and processing of the cla ...

SPRINGER2022

Superior visible light-mediated catalytic activity of a novel N-doped, Fe3O4-incorporating MgO nanosheet in presence of PMS: Imidacloprid degradation and implications on simultaneous bacterial inactivation

Stefanos Giannakis, Jérémie Decker

Impressive Imidacloprid (IMD) degradation and bacterial inactivation were attained through the photocatalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) via a novel, N-doped MgO@Fe3O4, under visible light. After complete characterization (XPS, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SE ...

ELSEVIER2022

Effect of the mineralogical composition on the elastoplastic hydromechanical response of Opalinus Clay shale

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

Opalinus Clay is the shale currently under investigation as the host formation for geological radioactive waste disposal in Switzerland. Its hydromechanical response has been widely studied, and the experimental results show a range of values whose dispers ...

2021

Studies on the mechanical evolution of compacted bentonite subjected to environmental actions

Jose Antonio Bosch Llufriu

Deep geological disposal is currently the most feasible option for the long-term isolation of radioactive waste, consisting in emplacing the waste into tunnels or drifts excavated at great depths in suitable geological formations. The use of bentonite, a h ...

EPFL2021

On the effect of a penetrating recirculation region on the bifurcations of the flow past a permeable sphere

François Gallaire, Pier Giuseppe Ledda, Giuseppe Antonio Zampogna, Matteo Ciuti

We study the flow past a permeable sphere modeled using homogenization theory. The flow through the porous medium is described by the Darcy law, in which the permeability quantifies the resistance for the fluid to pass through the microstructure. A slip co ...

AIP Publishing2021

Growth and viability of microorganisms in bentonite and their potential activity in deep geological repository environments

Niels Burzan

Radioactive waste is among the most dangerous anthropogenic waste and its safe disposal is a challenging multi-generational task. Many nations have sought for the peaceful application of nuclear fission for the reliable production of electric energy to pow ...

EPFL2021

Vibration monitoring based on optical sensing of mechanical nonlinearities in glass suspended waveguides

Yves Bellouard, Tao Yang, Pieter Vlugter, Enrico Casamenti

Vibration monitoring plays a key role in numerous applications, including machinerypredictive maintenance, shock detection, space applications, packaging-integrity monitoring andmining. Here, we investigate mechanical nonlinearities inherently present in s ...

2021

Bentonite clay barriers in nuclear waste repositories

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Jose Antonio Bosch Llufriu

Deep disposal of high-level radioactive waste is the preferred solution worldwide for the long-term disposal of nuclear waste. This concept involves a series of geological and engineered barriers that provide isolation of the waste from the biosphere. Most ...

EDP SCIENCES2020

Increasing the kaolinite content of raw clays using particle classification techniques for use as supplementary cementitious materials

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

The adoption of blended cements to reduce the carbon footprint has increased significantly over the last decades. Clays containing kaolinite are a promising choice due to their widespread availability. Kaolinite content is the major factor controlling the ...

ELSEVIER SCI LTD2020

The Influence of some calcined clays from Nigeria as clinker substitute in cementitious systems

Karen Scrivener, François Henri Avet, Akindehinde Ayotunde Akindahunsi

This paper examines the possibility of the use of some clays calcined from Nigeria as partial substitutes for clinker in the production of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3). The clays were calcined in the oven at a temperature of 800 degrees C and for o ...

2020