Effects of surface area to volume ratio and surface roughness on waste glass leaching. [PNL 76-68, a simulated nuclear waste glass]

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:5703572

McVay, G L; Buckwalter, C Q; Pederson, L R

This study assesses the effects of surface roughness and surface area to solution volume (SA/V) ratio changes on the leaching of PNL 76-68, a simulated nuclear waste glass. Monolith specimens were used to avoid the difficulties associated with powders. Inductively Coupled Argon Plasma Spectroscopy (ICP) was used to analyze leachate solutions. Solid samples were depth profiled using Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS). Corrosion of PNL 76-68 glass increased with increased surface roughness at a constant solution volume, in agreement with earlier studies on simple glasses. However, the increased leaching occurred only for several days at 90/sup 0/C, after which the rates of reaction of glasses given three widely different surface preparations were essentially identical. Surface roughness of a waste glass in a repository thus is not a major consideration in determining elemental release rates. In sharp contrast to the results of earlier studies on simple silicate glasses, leaching of PNL 76-68 glass strongly decreased with increases in the SA/V ratio. These findings imply that corrosion within cracks in a waste glass monolith exposed to water is much less important than previously suspected on the basis of simple glass measurements. Surfaces within small cracks in the waste glass are actually more durable than are the outer surfaces.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 5703572
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-9957; CONF-811088-3; ON: DE82005229
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360604 -- Materials-- Corrosion
Erosion
& Degradation
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CORROSION
DATA
DISSOLUTION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GLASS
INFORMATION
LEACHING
MANAGEMENT
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
NUMERICAL DATA
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PLASMA
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLID WASTES
SOLIDIFICATION
SPECTROSCOPY
SURFACE AREA
SURFACE PROPERTIES
VOLUME
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTE-ROCK INTERACTIONS
WASTES