Comparison of glassy slag waste forms produced in laboratory crucibles and in a bench-scale plasma furnace

Technical Report · Sat Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10189309· OSTI ID:10189309

Feng, X; Wronkiewicz, D J; Brown, N R; Gong, M ^[1]; Whitworth, C; Filius, K; Battleson, D ^[2]

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1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
2. MSE, Inc., Butte, MT (United States)

Vitrification is currently the best demonstrated available technology for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes. An innovative vitrification approach known as minimum additive waste stabilization (MAWS) is being developed. Both homogeneous glass and glassy slags have been used in implementing MAWS. Glassy slags (vitro-ceramics) are glass-crystal composites, and they are composed of various metal oxide crystalline phases embedded in an aluminosilicate glass matrix. Glassy slags with compositions developed in crucible melts at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) were successfully produced in a bench-scale Retech plasma centrifugal furnace (PCF) by MSE, Inc. Detailed examinations of these materials showed that the crucible melts and the PCF produced similar glass and crystalline phases. The two sets of glassy slags exhibited similar chemical durability in terms of normalized releases of their major components. The slags produced in the PCF furnace using metals were usually less oxidized, although this had no effect on the corrosion behavior of the major components of the slags. However, the normalized release rate of cerium was initially lower for the PCF slags. This difference diminished with time as the redox sates of the metal oxides in slags began to be controlled by exposure to air in the tests. Thus, the deference in cerium release due to the differences in slag redox state may be transitory. The cerium solubility is a complex function of redox state and solution pH and Eh.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); MSE, Inc., Butte, MT (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38; AC22-88ID12735
• OSTI ID: 10189309
• Report Number(s): ANL/CMT/CP--82509; CONF-9409178--8; ON: DE95001441; 35EW40100/35EW40104
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
CERIUM OXIDES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHROMIUM OXIDES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CORROSION RESISTANCE
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FABRICATION
GLASS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
HYDRATION
IRON OXIDES
LEACHING
LEAD OXIDES
NICKEL OXIDES
PERFORMANCE
PHASE STUDIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
REDOX POTENTIAL
SILICON OXIDES
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE
WASTE FORMS