Long-term behaviour of the Wyoming bentonite MX-80 in high saline solutions

The mineralogical and chemical changes of bentonites were studied under the boundary conditions of a repository in salt formations by means of a literature review, a natural analogue study, and laboratory experiments. In the natural analogue study the expandability of clays from deep boreholes in the East Slovakian Basin was found to be dependent not only on depth and temperature but also on the salinity of the pore waters. In laboratory experiments the fraction