Calcium Phosphate: A potential host for halide contaminated plutonium wastes.
The presence of significant quantities of fluoride and chloride in four types of legacy wastes from plutonium pyrochemical reprocessing required the development of a new wasteform which could adequately immobilize the halides in addition to the Pu and Am. Using a simulant chloride-based waste (Type I waste) and Sm as the surrogate for the Pu3+ and Am3+ present in the waste, AWE developed a process which utilised Ca3(PO4)2 as the host material. The waste was successfully incorporated into two crystalline phases, chlorapatite, [Ca5(PO4)3Cl], and spodiosite, [Ca2(PO4)Cl]. Radioactive studies performed at PNNL with 239Pu and 241Am confirmed the process. A slightly modified version of the process in which CaHPO4 was used as the host was successful in immobilizing a more complex multi-cation oxide–based waste (Type II) which contained significant concentrations of Cl and F in addition to 239Pu and 241Am. This waste resulted in the formation of cation-doped whitlockite, Ca3-xMgx(PO4)2, β-calcium phosphate, β-Ca2P2O7 and chlor-fluorapatite rather than the chlorapatite and spodiosite formed with Type I waste.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1059632
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-63708; 830403000
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXXII: Materials Research Society Fall Meeting, December 1-5, 2008, Boston, Massachusetts, 1124:Paper No. 1124-Q04-02
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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