EMPIRICAL MODEL FOR FORMULATION OF CRYSTAL-TOLERANT HLW GLASSES

Book · Wed Nov 07 04:00:00 EST 2012

OSTI ID:1055405

Matyas, Josef; Huckleberry, Adam R; Rodriguez, Carmen P; Vienna, John D; Kruger, Albert A

Historically, high-level waste (HLW) glasses have been formulated with a low liquidus temperature (TL), or temperature at which the equilibrium fraction of spinel crystals in the melt is below 1 vol % (T0.01), nominally below 1050°C. These constraints cannot prevent the accumulation of large spinel crystals in considerably cooler regions (~ 850°C) of the glass discharge riser during melter idling and significantly limit the waste loading, which is reflected in a high volume of waste glass, and would result in high capital, production, and disposal costs. A developed empirical model predicts crystal accumulation in the riser of the melter as a function of concentration of spinel-forming components in glass, and thereby provides guidance in formulating crystal-tolerant glasses that would allow high waste loadings by keeping the spinel crystals small and therefore suspended in the glass.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1055405
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-83235; 830403000
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Empirical model
HLW melter
Settling
Sludge layer
Spinel crystals