Solidification of commercial and defense low-level radioactive waste in polyethylene

Conference · Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5948028

Franz, E M; Heiser, L H; Colombo, P

A process was developed for the solidification of salt wastes, incinerator ash and ion-exchange resins in polyethylene. Of the salt wastes, sodium sulfate and boric acid are representative of the wastes produced at commercial nuclear facilities while sodium nitrate in a typical high-volume waste generated at defense-related facilities. Ease of processibility and high loading efficiencies were obtained through the use of low-density polyethylene with melt indices ranging from 2.0 to 55.0 g/minute. The process utilized a commercially available single-screw extruder to incorporate the wastes into the polyethylene at about 120/sup 0/C to produce a homogeneous mixture. Although present studies utilize dry wastes, wet wastes can also be processed using vented extruders of the type used commercially for the bitumen solidification process. Tests were performed on the waste forms to determine leachability and mechanical properties. To confirm the compatibility of polyethylene and nitrate salt waste at elevated temperatures, the self-ignition temperatures were measured and a differential scanning calorimeter was used to characterize the thermal behavior of oxidizing compounds contained in the simulated waste, as well as the real Savannah River Plant waste. No exothermic reactions were observed over the temperature range studied from 50/sup 0/C to 400/sup 0/C. 18 refs., 7 figs., 8 tabs.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 5948028
• Report Number(s): BNL-40350; CONF-870859-22; ON: DE88001553; TRN: 87-040211
• Resource Relation: Conference: 9. annual low-level radioactive waste management program conference, Denver, CO, USA, 25 Aug 1987; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FLY ASH
SOLIDIFICATION
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
GROUND DISPOSAL
POLYETHYLENES
COMPATIBILITY
EXTRUSION
RESINS
SALTS
ENCAPSULATION
BIODEGRADATION
COMPRESSION STRENGTH
LEACHING
AEROSOL WASTES
ASHES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
DISSOLUTION
FABRICATION
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATERIALS WORKING
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
POLYMERS
POLYOLEFINS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RESIDUES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
510300 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)