PNNL

Abstract

The development of nuclear waste forms for both existing and future nuclear wastes is critical to ensuring global environmental safety. This study focuses on waste management from molten salt reactors (MSRs), where fuel exists in a salt form and could be processed in real-time for removal of neutron poisons such as xenon isotopes (e.g., 135Xe) and rare earth elements (REEs, e.g., 149Sm). To ensure safe, stable, and long-term disposal in geological repositories, REEs must be incorporated into a durable waste form. Iron-phosphate glasses are a promising candidate due to their low melting points, high chemical durability, and the ability to incorporate high concentrations of REEs. In this study, we successfully prepared iron-phosphate glass waste forms with high Nd loadings (up to 37 mass%) in batch sizes ranging from small (23 g) to large (1600 g). The resulting materials contained up to 75 mass% NdPO4, contributing to their mechanical resilience and exceptional chemical durability. These findings highlight the potential of iron-phosphate glasses as high-efficiency, chemically durable waste forms and demonstrate the successful transition from theoretical design to scaled-up production