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HZDR-096HZDR-096HZDR-096 Wissenschaftlich-Technische Berichte HZDR-096 2019 · ISSN 2191-8708 Wissenschaftlich-Technische Berichte Wissenschaftlich-Technische Berichte HZDR-096 2019 · ISSN 2191-8708 HZDR-096 2019 · ISSN 2191-8708 HZDR-096 Report Annual HZDR-096 Report Annual HZDR-096 Report Annual Ecology Resource of Institute 2018 Ecology Resource of Institute 2018 Ecology Resource of Institute 2018 ANNUALANNUALANNUAL REPORTREPORT REPORT 20182018 2018 Institute of ResourceInstituteInstitute Ecology of of Resource Resource Ecology Ecology Bautzner LandstrasseBautznerBautzner 400 Landstrasse Landstrasse 400 400 INSTITUTEINSTITUTEINSTITUTE OFOF OFRESOURCERESOURCE RESOURCE ECOLOGYECOLOGY ECOLOGY 01328 Dresden/Germany0132801328 Dresden/Germany Dresden/Germany Phone +49 351 Phone260-3210Phone +49 +49 351 351 260-3210 260-3210 Fax +49 351 Fax260-3553Fax +49+49 351 351 260-3553 260-3553 Email [email protected] [email protected]@hzdr.de http://www.hzdr.dehttp://www.hzdr.dehttp://www.hzdr.de Member of the HelmholtzMemberMember of of Associationthe the Helmholtz Helmholtz Association Association Wissenschaftlich-Technische Berichte HZDR-096 Annual Report 2018 Institute of Resource Ecology Editorial board: Prof. Dr. Thorsten Stumpf Dr. Harald Foerstendorf Dr. Frank Bok Dr. Anke Richter Impressum Print edition: ISSN 2191-8708 Electronic edition: ISSN 2191-8716 The electronic edition is published under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND): https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-28898 urn:nbn:de:bsz:d120-qucosa2-331809 Published by Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf e.V. Contact Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf e.V. Institute of Resource Ecology Bautzner Landstraße 400 D-01328 Dresden Germany Phone: +49 (0) 351 260 3210 Fax: +49 (0) 351 260 3553 e-mail: [email protected] http://www.hzdr.de/fwo This report is also available at http://www.hzdr.de/fwo Cover picture After extensive upgrade works in 2018, The Rossendorf Beamline (RoBl) at the European Synchrotron Facility (ESRF) in Gre- noble, France, now provides four different experimental stations to conduct X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy, as well as surface, single crystal and high resolution powder diffraction. For actinide research, the alpha-nuclide laboratory environment was developed in such a way as to enable an easy transfer of samples between the experimental stations. Thus, samples can be easily investigated by several methods within one period of an allocated experiment (typically six days). After the completion of the ESRF storage ring rebuilt in 2020, the beamline will benefit from the superb beam brilliance, small source size and small beam divergence of the by then world leading synchrotron. Photos taken by Denis Morel (www.denis-morel.com), floorplan by Juergen Claussner (HZDR) 2 HZDR | Institute of Resource Ecology | Annual Report 2018 Preface HE INSTITUTE OF RESOURCE ECOLOGY (IRE) IS ONE For the reactor dynamics program DYN3D being a part of the eight institutes of the Helmholtz-Zentrum of the Helmholtz core simulator, a new solver for the neu- T Dresden – Rossendorf (HZDR). The research activi- tron diffusion equation was developed and implemented ties are mainly integrated into the program “Nuclear Waste (→ p. 74). Test results with the new numerical method Management, Safety and Radiation Re-search (NUSAFE)” demonstrate a very good agreement with the reference solu- of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and focused on the tion and a higher accuracy than the solvers available so far topics “Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal” and “Safety Re- without an increase of computation time. search for Nuclear Reactors”. In 2018, the powerful combination of analytical and nu- Additionally, various activities are on-going investigat- merical approaches to improve existing reactive transport ing chemical and environmental aspects of processing and concepts was exemplified. By using positron emission to- recycling of strategic metals, namely rare earth elements. mography and both conservative and reactive radiotracers, These activities are located in the HGF program “Energy they reveal fluid pathways in and quantify surface reactivity Efficiency, Materials and Resources (EMR)”. Both pro- of complex porous media. Thereby, updated numerical reac- grams, and therefore all work which is done at IRE, belong tive transport codes allow for a realistic prediction of con- to the research sector “Energy” of the HGF. taminant mobility in the environment (→ p. 26). Our research objective is the protection of humans and In order to determine the influence of microbes on the the environment from hazards caused by pollutants resulting behavior of radionuclides in the near and far field of a final from technical processes that produce energy and raw mate- disposal site for nuclear waste, the microbial diversity was rials. Treating technology and ecology as a unit is the major investigated in rock salt. In this habitat, the halophilic ar- scientific challenge in assuring the safety of technical pro- chaeon Halobacterium noricense was identified as dominant cesses and gaining their public acceptance. We investigate organism. Spectroscopic and microscopic investigations of the ecological risks exerted by radioactive and non- its interaction with U(VI) have shown, H. noricense forms radioactive metals in the context of nuclear waste disposal, phosphate minerals and thus contributes to the immobiliza- the production of energy in nuclear power plants and in pro- tion of uranium in rock salt (→ p. 36). cesses along the value chain of metalliferous raw materials. Our endeavors regarding the complexation chemistry of A common goal is to generate better understanding about the early actinides, have led to the synthesis of the first the dominating processes essential for metal mobilization Pu(IV), Np(III), and U(V) complexes at HZDR. All com- and immobilization on the molecular level by using ad- plexes could be characterized spectroscopically in solution vanced spectroscopic methods. This, in turn, enables us to (NMR, UV-vis, IR, ESI-MS) and in the solid state (XAS, assess the macroscopic phenomena, including models, codes SC- and P-XRD) and could be further described by quantum and data for predictive calculations, which determine the chemical methods (→ pp. 45). transport and distribution of contaminants in the environ- ment. Spectroscopic investigations of Eu(III) and Cm(III) aqueous complexation with phosphates were for the first The extraordinary broadness of research topics and ac- time extended to higher temperatures (25 – 80 ℃). The spe- tivities is illustrated below by some selected highlights: 2+ 2+ cies Eu(H2PO4) and Cm(H2PO4) could be proven and At the Rossendorf Beamline in Grenoble, three new ex- respective thermodynamic parameters ΔrH° and ΔrS° be de- perimental stations for high-energy-resolution X-ray absorp- rived. They allowed identifying an endothermic, entropy- tion and emission spectroscopy, single-crystal and surface driven complexation. This in turn is basis for a more realis- diffraction were established in an alpha-lab environment. tic modelling of sorption processes and secondary phase These three stations are linked to the existing XAFS station formations at increased temperatures (→ p. 58). to allow measurements of radionuclide samples with all four Beside these highlights, we obtained many other new techniques during a typical experiment cycle of six days. scientific results in the past year, which are presented in this First multi-method experiments were already conducted on annual report. Furthermore, 95 original papers were pub- PuO nanoparticles in the framework of the newly estab- 2 lished in peer-reviewed international scientific journals. In lished ERC grant “TOP”. 2018, we increased the average impact factor to a value of Driven by nuclear applications, classical ODS steels 5.07. In the last year, more than 130 scientists, technicians, have taken a leap towards nanostructured ferritic alloys and students working on their Ph.D., diploma, master, or (NFA) within a decade. In a collaborative study led by re- bachelor thesis, were employed at the Institute of Resource searchers from HZDR, it was found that strengthening due Ecology. Thereof, 32 Ph.D. students worked at the institute to oxide nanoparticles, forest dislocations and grain bounda- in 2018. Support of young scientists is an important tool to ries, each counteracting dislocation glide, are the dominant ensure the competence and further scientific excellence in strengthening mechanisms. Furthermore, the features re- future times. Therefore, we are pleased that Moritz Schmidt sponsible for the strength of NFAs have been shown to op- successfully defended his habilitation at TU Dresden, and erate as point defect sinks and helium traps. This insight was awarded the status Privatdozent in 2018. Furthermore, paves the way for application-dependent tailoring of materi- the HZDR Junior Research Group MicroSalt of Andrea als in terms of irradiation tolerance and helium manage- Cherkouk was evaluated successfully in this year. ment. The work received the best paper award of the Journal of Nuclear Materials (→ p. 71). HZDR | Institute of Resource Ecology | Annual Report 2018 3 Another highlight in 2018 was the start of the professor- source Ecology and at the Department of Environmental ship „Theoretical Chemistry“ in April. Thomas Heine and Sciences (JSI) is analyzing the interaction of technical na- his working group will be