Effect of Feed Composition on Cold-Cap Formation in Laboratory-Scale Melter
The development of advanced glass formulations are a part of the plan for reducing the cost and time for treatment and vitrification of the 210,000 m3 of nuclear waste at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. One property of interest in this development is melt viscosity, which has a decisive influence on the rate of glass production. In an electric melter, the conversion process from feed-to-glass above the melt pool occurs in the cold cap. At the final stage of conversion when the glass-forming melt becomes connected, gas evolving reactions cause foaming. The melt viscosity affects foam stability. Three glasses were formulated with viscosities of 1.5, 3.5, and 9.5 Pa s at 1150°C by varying the SiO2 content at the expense of B2O3, Li2O, and Na2O kept at constant proportions. Cold caps were produced by charging simulated high-alumina, high-level waste feeds in a laboratory-scale melter (LSM). The spread of the feed on the cold cap during charging and the cross-sectional structure of the final cold caps were compared. The amount of the foam and the size of the bubbles increased as the viscosity increased.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1345457
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-114378; 830403000
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual Waste Management Symposium (WM2016), March 6-10, 2016, Phoenix, Arizona, 2:1384-1391; Paper No. 16336
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Viscosity of glass‐forming melt at the bottom of high‐level waste melter‐feed cold caps: Effects of temperature and incorporation of solid components
Viscosity of glass-forming melt at the bottom of high-level waste melter feed cold caps: Effects of temperature and incorporation of solid components