The hydration of an outer layer on nuclear waste glasses is known to occur during leaching, but the actual speciation of hydrogen (as water or hydroxyl groups) in these layers has not been determined. As part of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations Project, we have used infrared spectroscopy to determine hydrogen speciations in three nuclear waste glass compositions (SRL-131 & 165, and PNL 76-68), which were leached at 90{sup 0}C (all glasses) or hydrated in a vapor-saturated atmosphere at 202{sup 0}C (SRL-131 only). Hydroxyl groups were found in the surface layers of all the glasses. Molecular water was found in the surface of SRL-131 and PNL 76-68 glasses that had been leached for several months in deionized water, and in the vapor-hydrated sample. The water/hydroxyl ratio increases with increasing reaction time; molecular water makes up most of the hydrogen in the thick reaction layers on vapor-phase hydrated glass while only hydroxyl occurs in the least reacted samples. Using the known molar absorptivities of water and hydroxyl in silica-rich glass the vapor-phase layer contained 4.8 moles/liter of molecular water, and 0.6 moles water in the form hydroxyl. A 15 {mu}m layer on SRL-131 glass formed by leaching at 90{sup 0}C …

None

The objective of this work was a process development on making a laser glass with loss coefficient of 10/sup -4/cm/sup -1/ at 1.05..mu... The key issues for making such a low loss glass will be to use pure raw materials, to reduce OH content and to prevent contamination from the melting environment. A sublimation method was tried to prepare pure P/sub 2/O/sub 5/ batch material. In an attempt to distinguish contributions to the overall loss, glasses were melted in furnaces which were controlled in moisture as well as contamination. Evaluation of glass samples at LLNL are expected to provide guidance on the importance of various process parameters. A new 0.5 liter furnace which almost completely prevents contamination by the furnace environment has been constructed to obtain useful information for making a low loss glass on a production scale.

Benzene is the major product of radiolytic decomposition of tetraphenylborate salts during in-tank salt decontamination. Its production rate has been measured at the Savannah River Laboratory (SR) and at the University of Florida under various conditions of importance to the in-tank process. Recent work has been concerned with the extent of decomposition for long storage periods, and the composition of the product streams from the process. The major results from this work are: the stored potassium tetraphenylborate precipitate will decompose at a rate of 7.3 {plus minus} 1.1% per year; the major products of the decomposition are benzene, phenol, biphenyl, and phenylboric acid; decomposition is directly proportional to the total dose and is unaffected by dose rate; the decomposition produces acidic compounds which will cause a decrease in the pH of the storage tank. 13 refs., 6 figs., 6 tabs.