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Competition Between Internal and Surface Crystallization in Glass-ceramics Developed for Actinides Immobilization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Pascal Loiseau
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Chimie Appliquée de l'Etat Solide (UMR CNRS 7574), ENSCP, 11 rue P. et M. Curie, 75231 Paris (France)
Daniel Caurant
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Chimie Appliquée de l'Etat Solide (UMR CNRS 7574), ENSCP, 11 rue P. et M. Curie, 75231 Paris (France)
Odile Majerus
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Chimie Appliquée de l'Etat Solide (UMR CNRS 7574), ENSCP, 11 rue P. et M. Curie, 75231 Paris (France)
Nöel Baffier
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Chimie Appliquée de l'Etat Solide (UMR CNRS 7574), ENSCP, 11 rue P. et M. Curie, 75231 Paris (France)
Catherine Fillet
Affiliation:
CEA/DEN/DIEC/SCDV/LEBM), 30207 Bagnols sur Cèze (France)
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Abstract

Glass-ceramic matrices containing zirconolite (nominally CaZrTi2O7) as the only crystalline phase in their bulk can be considered as good candidates for actinide-rich nuclear wastes (containing minor actinides or Pu) immobilization. In this study, three different methods are envisaged and compared to prepare such waste forms using neodymium as trivalent actinides surrogate. Independently on the preparation method, zirconolite is shown to be the only crystalline phase to nucleate in the bulk. However, crystallization of silicate phases (titanite CaTiSiO5 + anorthite CaAl2Si2O8) can occur from samples surface and can compete with zirconolite crystallization. The effect of the crystal growth thermal treatment duration (2–300 h) at high temperature (1050–1200°C) on glass-ceramics structure and microstructure is studied. In the oxides system studied here, it appears that zirconolite is not thermodynamically stable in comparison with titanite but, for kinetics reasons, such transformation will not occur during waste forms disposal.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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References

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