A Comprehensive Study of the Solubility, Thermochemistry, Ion Exchange, and Precipitation Kinetics of NO3 Cancrinite and NO3 Sodalite

Technical Report · Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/834989· OSTI ID:834989

Colon, Carlos F. Jove; Navrotsky, Alexandra; Krumhansl, James L; Nyman, May

NO3 cancrinite and NO3 sodalite haves been found as a common sodium alumino-silicate forming in strongly caustic alkaline aqueous solutions associated with radioactive High Level Waste (HLW) stored in many underground tanks and also in nuclear waste treatment facilities such as the Savannah River Site (SRS). The appearance of these phases have created very expensive problems in waste treatment plants by fouling process evaporators in the SRS waste processing facility. Therefore, in order to prevent their formation an assessment of the relative stability, formation kinetics, and the ion-exchange characteristics of these two phases in HLW solutions needs to be investigated. The goals of this project are to: (1) Develop a robust equilibrium thermodynamic framework to accurately describe and predict the formation of NO3 cancrinite and NO3 sodalite. (2) Provide a comprehensive characterization of the solid precipitation rates and mechanisms using novel spectroscopic (e.g., NMR) and thermochemical techniques in conditions encountered in HLW waste solutions. (3) Investigate the ion exchange capacity of these zeolitic phases with respect to radionuclides and RCRA metal species.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); University of California, Davis, CA; (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) (US)
• DOE Contract Number: FG07-01ER63298
• OSTI ID: 834989
• Report Number(s): EMSP-81959-2002; R&D Project: EMSP 81959; TRN: US0407420
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 2002
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
EVAPORATORS
FOULING
ION EXCHANGE
KINETICS
LIQUID WASTES
PRECIPITATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
SODIUM
SOLUBILITY
STABILITY
TANKS
THERMODYNAMICS
WASTE PROCESSING