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Title: Toward Understanding the Effect of Low-Activity Waste Glass Composition on Sulfur Solubility

Journal Article · · Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 97(10):3135-3142
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.13125· OSTI ID:1167303

The concentration of sulfur in nuclear waste glass melter feed must be maintained below the point where salt accumulates on the melt surface. The allowable concentrations may range from 0.37 to over 2.05 weight percent (of SO3 on a calcined oxide basis). If the amount of sulfur exceeds its tolerance level a molten salt will accumulate and upset melter operations and potentially shorten melter useful life. Therefore relatively conservative limits have been placed on sulfur loading in melter feed which in-turn significantly impacts the amount of glass that will be produced, in particular at the Hanford site. Crucible-scale sulfur solubility data and scaled melter sulfur tolerance data have been collected on simulated Hanford waste glasses over the last 15 years. These data were compiled and analyzed. A model was developed to predict the solubility of SO3 in glass based on 312 individual glass compositions. This model was shown to well represent the data, accounting for over 80% of the variation in data and was well validated. The model was also found to accurately predict the tolerance for sulfur in melter feed based on 19 scaled melter tests. The model is appropriate for control of waste glass processing which includes uncertainty quantification. The model also gives quantitative estimates of component concentration effects on sulfur solubility. The components that most increase sulfur solubility are Li2O > V2O5 ≈ TiO2 < CaO < P2O5 ≈ ZnO. The components that most decrease sulfur solubility are Cl > Cr2O3 > SiO2 ≈ ZrO2 > Al2O3.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1167303
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-100212; 830403000
Journal Information:
Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 97(10):3135-3142, Journal Name: Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 97(10):3135-3142
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (3)

Inorganic Ba–Sn nanocomposite materials for sulfate sequestration from complex aqueous solutions journal January 2018
Sulfur solubility in low activity waste glass and its correlation to melter tolerance journal May 2019
Low Temperature Sequential Melting and Anion Retention in Simplified Low Activity Waste journal January 2020

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