Assessment of lead tellurite glass for immobilizing electrochemical salt wastes from used nuclear fuel reprocessing

Journal Article · Wed Aug 30 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JNUCMAT.2017.08.037· OSTI ID:1379949

Riley, Brian J. ^[1]; Kroll, Jared O. ^[1]; Peterson, Jacob A. ^[1]; Pierce, David A. ^[2]; Ebert, William L. ^[3]; Williams, Benjamin D. ^[1]; Snyder, Michelle M. V. ^[1]; Frank, Steven M. ^[4]; George, Jaime L. ^[1]; Kruska, Karen ^[1]

---

1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
2. Energy Northwest, Richland, WA (United States)
3. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
4. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Here, this paper provides an overview of research evaluating the use of lead tellurite glass as a waste form for salt wastes from electrochemical reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. The efficacy of using lead tellurite glass to immobilize three different salt compositions was evaluated: a LiCl-Li₂O oxide reduction salt containing fission products from oxide fuel, a LiCl-KCl eutectic salt containing fission products from metallic fuel, and SrCl₂. Physical and chemical properties of glasses made with these salts were characterized with X-ray diffraction, bulk density measurements, differential thermal analysis, chemical durability tests, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. These glasses were found to accommodate high salt concentrations and have high densities, but further development is needed to improve chemical durability.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1379949
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1411170; OSTI ID: 1549773; OSTI ID: 1395275; OSTI ID: 1398210
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA--125402; PII: S0022311517305561
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Vol. 495; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Oxide reduction
Pyroprocessing
Strontium chloride
Tellurite glass