Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T00:13:09.016Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Immobilization of radioactive isotopes in fluorapatite matrices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Elena Macerata
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Energia, Sezione Ingegneria Nucleare – CeSNEF (Centro Studi Nucleari Enrico Fermi), Politecnico di Milano, via G. Ponzio, 34/3, I-20133, Milano, Italy
Piergiuseppe Innocente
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Energia, Sezione Ingegneria Nucleare – CeSNEF (Centro Studi Nucleari Enrico Fermi), Politecnico di Milano, via G. Ponzio, 34/3, I-20133, Milano, Italy
Mario Mariani
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Energia, Sezione Ingegneria Nucleare – CeSNEF (Centro Studi Nucleari Enrico Fermi), Politecnico di Milano, via G. Ponzio, 34/3, I-20133, Milano, Italy
Michele Galletta
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Energia, Sezione Ingegneria Nucleare – CeSNEF (Centro Studi Nucleari Enrico Fermi), Politecnico di Milano, via G. Ponzio, 34/3, I-20133, Milano, Italy
Get access

Abstract

Fluorapatite (Fap), Ca10(PO4)6F2, could be a potential candidate for the immobilization of radioactive isotopes thanks both to its physical-chemical properties and to the capability to incorporate mono-, di- and trivalent cations in its crystal structure. In this research work different preparation procedures able to incorporate in a fluorapatite matrix strontium in the form of nitrate or fluoride salt were considered. The experiments were performed by means of stable isotopes, as representative of the radionuclides contained in the nuclear fuel. Subsequently, the Sr-substituted fluorapatites (SrxFap), Ca10-xSrx(PO4)6F2, were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The results suggest that the considered synthetic procedures could be reasonably applied to the confinement of the radionuclides contained in some types of nuclear waste. In order to avoid the presence of unreacted reagents in the products or the formation of undesired phases, an optimization of the synthetic procedures may be considered.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Evaluation of Actinide Partitioning and Transmutation, Technical Report Series No. 214, Vienna 1982 IAEA.Google Scholar
2 Donald, I. W., Metcalfe, B. L., Taylor, R. N. J., J. Mater. Sci. 32,5851 (1997).Google Scholar
3 Vance, E., Development of Ceramic Waste Forms for High-Level Nuclear Waste over the Last 30 Years, in Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXX edited by Dunn, Darrell, Poinssot, Christophe, Begg, Bruce (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 985, Warrendale, PA, 2007).Google Scholar
4 Radioactive Waste Forms for the Future, edited by Lutze, W. and Ewing, R. C. (North Holland, Amsterdam, 1988).Google Scholar
5 Ewing, R. C., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 96,3432 (1999).Google Scholar
6 Elliott, J. C., Structure and Chemistry of the Apatites and Other Calcium Orthophosphates (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1994).Google Scholar
7 Utsunomiya, S., Yudintsev, S. et al. , J. Nucl. Mater. 322,180 (2003).Google Scholar
8 Senamaud, N., Bernache-Assollant, D., Carpena, J., Pin, C., Synthesis and Characterization of Cs-Bearing Apatites, in Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXII edited by Wronkiewicz, D. J., Lee, J.H., (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 556, Warrendale, PA, 1999).Google Scholar
9 Fabian, R., Kotsis, I., Zimàny, P. and Halmos, P., Talanta 46,1273 (1998).Google Scholar
10 Fabian, R., Kotsis, I. and Pilter, Z., Hungarian Journal of Industrial Chemistry 27,259 (1999).Google Scholar
11 Silva, C., Hemmers, O., Johnson, A., Lindle, D., Hartmann, T., 11th International High Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference: Global Progress Toward Safe Disposal (IHLRWM) 2006, edited by Curran Associates Inc. Google Scholar
12 O'Donnell, M. D., Fredholm, Y., Rouffignac, A. de and Hill, R. G., Acta Biomater, (2008).Google Scholar
13 Li, Z. Y. et al. , Biomaterials 28,1452 (2007).Google Scholar