High-level waste vitrification and plutonium disposition

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:178120

Borisov, C B; Polyakov, A S ^[1]

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1. VNIINM, Moscow (Russian Federation)

Results of more than 4 years experience in liquid high level waste (HLW) vitrification in the Russian ceramic melter of EP 600 type were summarized in the report. The distinctive features of the melter at processing glass melts containing plutonium were considered. It was shown that the prospects of use of the ceramic melter for joint vitrification of high level waste and plutonium are rather doubtful due to the potential nuclear danger caused by the peculiar plutonium behavior at dissolving in glass melt and the availability in the melter of water cooled assemblies located by the glass melt. On the basis of the ceramic melter techniques developed in the Russian Federation for: Joint HLW and plutonium vitrification, and metallic plutonium vitrification. Two designs of melter with the operating temperature of 1,300--1,400 C and without any water-cooled structural elements were proposed. To vitrify metallic plutonium, a melter having two tiers location of electrodes that stipulates a condition for glass melt agitation required for metallic plutonium oxidation and oxides dissolving in the glass. To vitrify metallic plutonium it was proposed to used the glass with higher oxidating potential and low viscosity that is achieved due to additions of metal oxides and fluorides. Results achieved during the research into {alpha} nuclides effect on thermal, radiation and chemical properties of borosilicate glasses were also summarized.

• OSTI ID: 178120
• Report Number(s): CONF-950917--; ISBN 0-7918-1219-7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
BOROSILICATE GLASS
CERAMIC MELTERS
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
DESIGN
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LIQUID WASTES
PLUTONIUM
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
VITRIFICATION
WASTE FORMS