Characteristics of Fernald's K-65 residue before, during and after vitrification

Technical Report · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5429240

Janke, D S; Chapman, C C ^[1]

---

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

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) recently completed vitrification tests of material from the Feed Materials Production Center in Fernald, Ohio. Vitrification is the process of converting material to a glass form, and is attractive for application to wastes for many reasons: It produces an extremely durable, chemically stable glass product; it can greatly reduce the volume of waste; and it is a cost-effective treatment process. Two silos, designated as K-65, at the Fernald site contain residues from the processing of pitchblende ores. This residue contains uranium, uranium daughter products, and some heavy metals (primarily lead). PNL received approximately 7 kilograms of the K-65 residue for vitrification tests. The objectives of the tests were to determine the quantity and composition of off-gas evolved during vitrification, the radon emanation rate from both the original K-65 residue and the vitrified product, and the leachability of the vitrified material. To meet these objectives, samples of the residue were vitrified on a bench scale. The off-gas from the vitrification process was collected, measured (volume), and analyzed for radon and other constituents. The radon emanation rate from both the vitrified and nonvitrified residue was also measured. 11 refs., 19 figs., 12 tabs.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Materials Co. of Ohio, Cincinnati, OH (United States). Feed Materials Production Center; Battelle Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-86OR21600
• OSTI ID: 5429240
• Report Number(s): FMPC/Sub-035; ON: DE91018188
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ACTINIDES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
DISSOLUTION
ELEMENTS
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
FEED MATERIALS PRODUCTION CENTER
FLUIDS
GAS ANALYSIS
GASES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
LEACHING
MATERIALS
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PERFORMANCE TESTING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADON
RARE GASES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
TESTING
URANIUM
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VITRIFICATION
WASTE FORMS
WASTES