Dissolution of Accumulated Spinel Crystals in Simulated Nuclear Waste Glass Melts
Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 22, Issue 2
Abstract
Currently, efforts are being made to increase the waste loading in vitrified waste forms for the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, which could result in the formation of crystalline phases within the glass. Spinel crystals that form in glass melts during vitrification of nuclear waste have a negligible impact on the performance of the glass product, and thus a melter operating with a nominal concentration of spinel crystals would be advantageous to accessing broader composition spaces and increases in waste loading. However, the total amount of crystallization must be controlled to reduce risks associated with crystal accumulation in the melter (i.e., melt properties and melter throughput/operation), and therefore a strategy to reduce the risk of failure of the melter from spinel accumulation is of interest. This study describes a method to mitigate spinel accumulation without disrupting melter operation while maintaining melt viscosity and glass product chemical durability requirements. It is found that additives can be incorporated into the glass melt that reduce the quantity of trevorite crystallization by up to 65% while maintaining acceptable viscosities for processing and chemical durabilities as measured by the product consistency test responses for disposal.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Phyllis Workman for aiding in sample preparation, David Missimer for providing XRD analysis, and Whitney Riley for ICP-AES analysis. Josef Matyáš at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory engaged in several helpful discussions of the Crystal Tolerant Glass Program. Funding from the DOE of River Protection Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project is gratefully acknowledged. Savannah River National Laboratory is operated by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions for the DOE under contract number DE-AC09-08SR22470.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 22 • Issue 2 • April 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 31, 2017
Accepted: Sep 8, 2017
Published online: Jan 30, 2018
Published in print: Apr 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jun 30, 2018
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