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Large Scale Leach Testing of Dwpf Canister Sections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

Dennis F. Bickford
Affiliation:
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29808
Daniel J. Pellarin
Affiliation:
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29808
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Abstract

A Large-Scale Leach Test Facility (LSLTF) has been constructed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) to perform static leach tests on 24-inch (610 mm)-diameter canister sections cut from simulated (nonradioactive) waste forms cast under reference conditions. The equipment and test procedures are designed to closely correspond to MCC-l leach test criteria.

Less than a factor of 3 increase in leachability results from combined scale-up, glass-cracking, leached surface area estimation, and surface roughness effects. This factor is dominated by surface roughness of saw cut surfaces. The factor is negligible when compared to the 200,000/1 ratio of glass sample masses.

The MCC-l, and other small-scale leach tests have been valuable in determining the relative merits of alternative waste form compositions. However, the actual waste glass to be stored in repositories is subject to fracture, devitrification, and container/glass interactions, which are difficult to simulate on a laboratory scale. Large-scale leach tests integrate these and other possible waste form characteristics that are not represented in typical small samples.

The facility, equipment, test method and results of one year leach test- ing are discussed. These results substantiate the applicability of small scale test data which precede this work, and the use of small scale tests to simulate leaching of the Defense Waste Processing Facility's borosilicate glass product. Exceptionally good sampling statistics make the large scale data particularly well suited for verification of models of leachability rates.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1987

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References

[1.] Materials Characterization Center, “MCC-lP Static Leach Test Method,” Nuclear Waste Materials Handbook, Sept. 30, 1981.Google Scholar
[2.] Pellarin, D. J. and Bickford, D. F., “Large Scale Leach Test Facility: Development of Equipment and Methods, and Comparison to MCC-1 Leach Tests,” DPST-85-615, NTIS Oak Ridge, TN, July, 1985. The data is also available on personal computer media from the authors.Google Scholar