Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The Al2O3 rich borosilicate glass SM527 was submitted to corrosion tests with glass surface area to solution volume ratios ranging from 10 to 10000 m-1. This latter condition would correspond with a 1000 fold acceleration relative to the reference MCCI condition. Powdered glass was used to reach SANV ratios of 500 m-1 and more. The leaching solutions were either distilled water or referred to Boom clay disposal conditions. The results based on the boron concentration in solution revealed a relatively linear dependence on SA/V.t0.5 in the pure solutions, on the longer term (DW and clay water). Diffusion is suggested to be the process governing the glass dissolution, although other processes should not be excluded. In a clay / clay water mixture (slurry), long term dissolution seems to be limited by saturation. Short term data for boron are largest in the clay slurry, but with time the boron concentrations converge to similar values in the three media considered. The use of SA/V as an accelerating factor is promising, but certainly requires additional research.