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SUMMARY:EESS talk on "Leveraging microbial processes to mitigate H2 build-
 up in radioactive waste repositories"
DTSTART:20251209T121500
DTEND:20251209T124500
DTSTAMP:20260404T192115Z
UID:4adb2c0e7747e14ff83888b2ab1ce23fa6362f695af3877a202b88fa
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:PhD Student Camille Rolland\, EPFL\nAbstract:\n\n\nNuclear ene
 rgy is an important part of the global energy supply\, but managing its lo
 ng-lived waste remains a challenge. Deep geological repositories are consi
 dered the most reliable solution\, yet hydrogen gas (H₂) from the corros
 ion of steel waste containers can build up and create pressure that threat
 ens the stability of the host rock. Gas-permeable backfill materials can r
 educe this pressure mechanically\, but microbial use of H₂ may offer an 
 additional\, cost-effective safety measure. In experiments simulating repo
 sitory conditions\, we found that pressure dropped quickly due to microbia
 l H₂ oxidation involving multiple metabolic pathways. Water and electron
  acceptor availability were key factors controlling this process. These re
 sults highlight the conditions that regulate microbial H₂ oxidation in u
 nsaturated porous media and provide insights for improving safety assessme
 nts of geological repositories.\n\n\n\n\n\nBiography:\n\n\n\nI completed b
 oth my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Energy and Environmental Eng
 ineering at INSA Lyon. After an initial research project on the photocatal
 ytic reduction of CO₂ using semiconductors (DTU Department of Energy Con
 version and Storage)\, I realized I was more interested in environmental s
 cience\, particularly in disentangling biological contributions to environ
 mental cycles. This led me to EPFL\, where I conducted my master’s thesi
 s at the River Ecosystems Laboratory\, studying the fate of organic matter
  in alpine catchments as part of the METALP project. Currently\, I am a fo
 urth-year PhD student in the Environmental Microbiology Laboratory\, where
  my research focuses on the role of hydrogenotrophic microorganisms as key
  drivers of long-term stability in deep geological repositories.\n \n\n
LOCATION:GC B1 10 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==GC%20B1%2010 https://epfl.zo
 om.us/j/69011077410
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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