Immobilization of fission products in phosphate ceramic waste forms

Conference · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1997

OSTI ID:527185

Singh, D; Wagh, A ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

Chemically bonded phosphate ceramics (CBPCs) have several advantages that make them ideal candidates for containing radioactive and hazardous wastes. In general, phosphates have high solid-solution capacities for incorporating radionuclides, as evidenced by several phosphates (e.g., monazites and apatites) that are natural analogs of radioactive and rare-earth elements. The phosphates have high radiation stability, are refractory, and will not degrade in the presence of internal heating by fission products. Dense and hard CBPCs can be fabricated inexpensively and at low temperature by acid-base reactions between an inorganic oxide/hydroxide powder and either phosphoric acid or an acid-phosphate solution. The resulting phosphates are extremely insoluble in aqueous media and have excellent long-term durability. CBPCs offer the dual stabilization mechanisms of chemical fixation and physical encapsulation, resulting in superior waste forms. The goal of this task is develop and demonstrate the feasibility of CBPCs for S/S of wastes containing fission products. The focus of this work is to develop a low-temperature CBPC immobilization system for eluted {sup 99}Tc wastes from sorption processes.

• Research Organization: Science, Inc., Anaheim, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 527185
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA--28461-Rev.1; CONF-970148--Rev.1; ON: DE97052111
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
CERAMICS
CHEMICAL BONDS
FISSION PRODUCTS
PHOSPHATE MINERALS
SOLIDIFICATION
SOLUBILITY
TECHNETIUM 99
VITRIFICATION