West Valley high-level nuclear waste glass development: a statistically designed mixture study
The first full-scale conversion of high-level commercial nuclear wastes to glass in the United States will be conducted at West Valley, New York, by West Valley Nuclear Services Company, Inc. (WVNS), for the US Department of Energy. Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is supporting WVNS in the design of the glass-making process and the chemical formulation of the glass. This report describes the statistically designed study performed by PNL to develop the glass composition recommended for use at West Valley. The recommended glass contains 28 wt% waste, as limited by process requirements. The waste loading and the silica content (45 wt%) are similar to those in previously developed waste glasses; however, the new formulation contains more calcium and less boron. A series of tests verified that the increased calcium results in improved chemical durability and does not adversely affect the other modeled properties. The optimization study assessed the effects of seven oxide components on glass properties. Over 100 melts combining the seven components into a wide variety of statistically chosen compositions were tested. Viscosity, electrical conductivity, thermal expansion, crystallinity, and chemical durability were measured and empirically modeled as a function of the glass composition. The mathematical models were then used to predict the optimum formulation. This glass was tested and adjusted to arrive at the final composition recommended for use at West Valley. 56 references, 49 figures, 18 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6158312
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-4992; ON: DE85002570
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
GLASS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
LEACHING
VISCOSITY
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
SOLIDIFICATION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OPTIMIZATION
VITRIFICATION
DATA
DISSOLUTION
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL DATA
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing
360603 - Materials- Properties