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Glass as a Waste Form for the Immobilization of Plutonium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

J. K. Bates ,
A. J. G. Ellison ,
J. W. Emery  and
J. C. Hoh
J. K. Bates
Affiliation:
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
A. J. G. Ellison
Affiliation:
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
J. W. Emery
Affiliation:
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
J. C. Hoh
Affiliation:
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
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Abstract

Several alternatives for disposal of surplus plutonium are being considered. One method is incorporating Pu into glass and in this paper we discuss the development and corrosion behavior of an alkali-tin-silicate glass and update results in testing Pu doped Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) reference glasses. The alkali-tin-silicate glass was engineered to accommodate a high Pu loading and to be durable under conditions likely to accelerate glass reaction. The glass dissolves about 7 wt% Pu together with the neutron absorber Gd, and under test conditions expected to accelerate the glass reaction with water, is resistant to corrosion. The Pu and the Gd are released from the glass at nearly the same rate in static corrosion tests in water, and are not segregated into surface alteration phases when the glass is reacted in water vapor. Similar results for the behavior of Pu and Gd are found for the DWPF reference glasses, although the long-term rate of reaction for the reference glasses is more rapid than for the alkalitin-silicate glass.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 412: Symposium V – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XIX , 1995 , 57
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

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