Fissile Materials Disposition Formulation Report
The Department of Energy (DOE) has chosen a titanate-based ceramic as the preferred form for the immobilization of surplus plutonium [COCHRAN]. The baseline formulation being developed includes a pyrochlore matrix, (Ca,Gd,Pu,U,Hf){sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} the primary site for plutonium and uranium, and several minor phases such as brannerite, (Pu,U)Ti{sub 2}O{sub 6}, and rutile, (TiHf)O{sub 2}. This baseline and ten other formulations were prepared to provide test specimens for characterization and corrosion testing. The purpose of this report is to document the fabrication and characterization of these ceramics. The fabrication procedure initially employed to produce specimens was provided by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). During the preparation of the baseline ceramic, several aspects related to LLNL's procedure were evaluated. This report will discuss how these techniques were refined to reproducibly provide ceramics appropriate for corrosion testing. The baseline formulation represents a titanate ceramic for which the plutonium feed stream would be free of any impurity elements. The other formulations were designed to provide information about potential phase formation due to variations in precursors, specifically the waste streams in which the surplus plutonium is contained. Nominal compositions representing the 11 formulations investigated are shown in Table I.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Defense Programs (DP) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-Eng-48
- OSTI ID:
- 802089
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-141459; TRN: US0205665
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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