Cerium as a Surrogate in the Plutonium Immobilized Form
The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to immobilize a portion of the excess weapons useable plutonium in a ceramic form for final geologic disposal. The proposed immobilization form is a titanate based ceramic consisting primarily of a pyrochlore phase with lesser amounts of brannerite, rutile, zirconolite, vitreous phases and/or other minor phases depending on the impurities present in the feed. The ceramic formulation is cold-pressed and then densified via a reactive sintering process. Cerium has been used as a surrogate for plutonium to facilitate formulation development and process testing. The use of cerium vs. plutonium results in differences in behavior during sintering of the ceramic form. The phase development progression and final phase assemblage is different when cerium is substituted for the actinides in the form. However, the physical behavior of cerium oxide powder and the formation of a pyrochlore-rich ceramic of similar density to the actinide-bearing material make cerium an adequate surrogate for formulation and process development studies.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 782043
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-2001-00007; TRN: US0103087
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 103rd Annual American Ceramic Society Meeting, Symposium on Waste Management Science and Technology in the Ceramic and Nuclear Industries, Indianapolis, IN (US), 04/22/2001--04/25/2001; Other Information: PBD: 15 Jun 2001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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