Alternative Electrochemical Salt Waste Forms, Summary of FY11-FY12 Results

Technical Report · Fri Jan 17 04:00:00 EST 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1176854· OSTI ID:1176854

Riley, Brian J. ^[1]; Mccloy, John S. ^[1]; Crum, Jarrod V. ^[1]; Lepry, William C. ^[1]; Rodriguez, Carmen P. ^[1]; Windisch, Charles F. ^[1]; Matyas, Josef ^[1]; Westman, Matthew P. ^[1]; Rieck, Bennett T. ^[1]; Lang, Jesse B. ^[1]; Olszta, Matthew J. ^[1]; Pierce, David A. ^[1]

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1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

The Fuel Cycle Research and Development Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, is currently investigating alternative waste forms for wastes generated from nuclear fuel processing. One such waste results from an electrochemical separations process, called the “Echem” process. The Echem process utilizes a molten KCl-LiCl salt to dissolve the fuel. This process results in a spent salt containing alkali, alkaline earth, lanthanide halides and small quantities of actinide halides, where the primary halide is chloride with a minor iodide fraction. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is concurrently investigating two candidate waste forms for the Echem spent-salt: high-halide minerals (i.e., sodalite and cancrinite) and tellurite (TeO2)-based glasses. Both of these candidates showed promise in fiscal year (FY) 2009 and FY2010 with a simplified nonradioactive simulant of the Echem waste. Further testing was performed on these waste forms in FY2011 and FY2012 to assess the possibility of their use in a sustainable fuel cycle. This report summarizes the combined results from FY2011 and FY2012 efforts.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1176854
• Report Number(s): PNNL--22034 Rev. 1; AF5805010
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
electrochemical
sodalite
tellurite glass
waste form