Characterization of borosilicate glass containing Savannah River Plant radioactive waste. II. Microstructure and durability
An important property of borosilicate glass that makes it suitable for immobilizing SRP nuclear waste is its low leachability (or high durability). Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) currently has a program investigating factors that may effect this leachability using actual radioactive glass. This paper reports results of a quantitative investigation into one of these factors - devitrification. Two previous studies at SRL using earlier glass compositions and simulated or actual waste showed that devitrification should not affect leachability. The purpose of the present study is to quantitatively verify this conclusion for the present reference glass composition, with actual waste. Based on the results of this study, the durability of SRP borosilicate glass is insensitive to devitrification. For example, 19 wt % crystallinity (acmite and ferrite spinels) caused by slow cooling or by exposure to an accidental fire affected the leachability by 30% or less in short-term leaching tests (up to 40 days). In longer tests simulating repository storage, saturation effects rather than devitrification will dominate leaching. Thus, devitrification is not a significant factor affecting the performance of borosilicate glass for immobilizing SRP nuclear waste.
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-76SR00001
- OSTI ID:
- 6207409
- Report Number(s):
- DP-MS-82-111; CONF-830738-1; ON: DE83011246
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360602* -- Other Materials-- Structure & Phase Studies
360604 -- Materials-- Corrosion
Erosion
& Degradation
BOROSILICATE GLASS
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
CRYSTALLIZATION
DISSOLUTION
GLASS
LEACHING
MICROSTRUCTURE
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
VITRIFICATION