COMPORTAMIENTO GEOQUIMICO DE BARRERAS ARCILLOSAS: TRANSFORMACIONES HIDROTERMALES EN ESMECTITAS ALUMINICAS

The use of bentonite barriers in radiactive waste repositories is conditioned by its transformation into illite, due to the influence of temperature and solutions in the canister vicinity. This reaction is known in burial diagenesis and hydrothermal alterations, but its mechanism is not yet well stablished. A preliminary study on spanish bentonites shows that important variations exist in the chemical solutions in contact with bentonites in a hydrothermal environment.