Behaviour of Plutonium, Rare Earth Elements and Elements of the Platinum Group in Vitreous Phosphate Composites During Liquid HLW Vitrification

Nikiforov, A. S.; Polyakov, A. S.; Matyunin, Yu. I.; Demin, A. V.; Federova, M. I.; Bochvar, A. A.; ,

Behaviour of Plutonium, Rare Earth Elements and Elements of the Platinum Group in Vitreous Phosphate Composites During Liquid HLW Vitrification

by A. S. Nikiforov, All-Union Scientific Research Inst, of Inorganic Materials, Moscow, Russia,
A. S. Polyakov, All-Union Scientific Research Inst, of Inorganic Materials, Moscow, Russia,
Yu. I. Matyunin, All-Union Scientific Research Inst, of Inorganic Materials, Moscow, Russia,
A. V. Demin, All-Union Scientific Research Inst, of Inorganic Materials, Moscow, Russia,
M. I. Federova, All-Union Scientific Research Inst, of Inorganic Materials, Moscow, Russia,
A. A. Bochvar, All-Union Scientific Research Inst, of Inorganic Materials, Moscow, Russia,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: High Level Radioactive Waste Management 1991

Abstract:

The methods of ?-spectrometry, ?-scanning, ?-radiography, optical microscopy, x-ray phase and x-ray fluorescent analyses were used to study the behaviour of Pu, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Ru, Rh, Pd in vitreous phosphate materials vs the initial chemical forms of the elements under study, the solidification methods, the macrocomposition and the time of molten glass holding. The above elements are shown to have a limited solubility in vitreous matrices of the compositions studied. The limited solubility of Pu, REE and platinides in molten glass results in the disturbance of the homogeneity of solidification products and the formation of heterogeneous phases of the above elements. Under certain conditions regions enriched in compounds of the above elements may separate in molten glass and this deteriorates the properties of the resultant composites as applied to their long-term storage and technological parameters of the vitrification process.

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