Preliminary glass compositions for immobilizing Hanford low-activity waste (LAW) by the in-container vitrification (ICV) process were fabricated at crucible- and engineering-scale and tested at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This testing showed that glasses with LAW loading of 20 mass% can readily be made and meet all product constraints by a far margin. It was found that the response constraint of the vapor hydration test (VHT) of less than 50 g/(m2•d) alteration rate was the most restrictive constraint placed on LAW glasses. Glasses with over 22 mass% Na2O can be made to meet this constraint along with all other product quality and processability constraints imposed by this process. The results of crucible melts with simulants were scaled-up to engineering scale and also tested with actual (radioactive) LAW. All the results suggest that the baseline glass can be successfully processed by the ICV technology and can meet all the constraints related to product quality.
Revised: January 17, 2011 |
Published: August 1, 2003