PNNL

Abstract

Glass property models will be used at the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant to formulate durable high-level waste glasses for disposal. A major effort is focused on expanding glass property models to cover a broader range of wastes and higher waste-loaded glasses. As a part of this effort, a statistically designed matrix of high-alumina glass compositions was developed. Forty five compositions were selected from the matrix to evaluate glass properties. Of these compositions, thirty three produced homogeneous glasses. The other twelve compositions contained segregated phases and high crystallinity; these were iteratively modified in an attempt to produce homogeneous glass samples while altering the original composition as little as possible. This paper focuses on the characterization of the twelve inhomogeneous compositions and their modifications using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy.