Development of Glass Matrices for HLW Radioactive Wastes (open access)

Development of Glass Matrices for HLW Radioactive Wastes

Vitrification is currently the most widely used technology for the treatment of high level radioactive wastes (HLW) throughout the world. Most of the nations that have generated HLW are immobilizing in either borosilicate glass or phosphate glass. One of the primary reasons that glass has become the most widely used immobilization media is the relative simplicity of the vitrification process, e.g. melt waste plus glass forming frit additives and cast. A second reason that glass has become widely used for HLW is that the short range order (SRO) and medium range order (MRO) found in glass atomistically bonds the radionuclides and governs the melt properties such as viscosity, resistivity, sulphate solubility. The molecular structure of glass controls contaminant/radionuclide release by establishing the distribution of ion exchange sites, hydrolysis sites, and the access of water to those sites. The molecular structure is flexible and hence accounts for the flexibility of glass formulations to waste variability. Nuclear waste glasses melt between 1050-1150 C which minimizes the volatility of radioactive components such as Tc{sup 99}, Cs{sup 137}, and I{sup 129}. Nuclear waste glasses have good long term stability including irradiation resistance. Process control models based on the molecular structure of glass have been …
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Jantzen, Carol M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas Commission on the Arts Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2011 - 2015 (open access)

Texas Commission on the Arts Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2011 - 2015

Report on the strategic plan for the Texas Commission on the Arts describing the organization's planned services, activities, and other goals during fiscal years 2011 to 2015.
Date: June 18, 2010
Creator: Texas Commission on the Arts
System: The Portal to Texas History