Alternative Electrochemical Salt Waste Forms, Summary of FY11-FY12 Results

Riley, Brian J. ; Mccloy, John S. ; Crum, Jarrod V. ; Lepry, William C. ; Rodriguez, Carmen P. ; Windisch, Charles F. ; Matyas, Josef ; Westman, Matthew P. ; Rieck, Bennett T. ; Lang, Jesse B. ; Olszta, Matthew J. ; Pierce, David A.

关键词: sodalite;    electrochemical;    tellurite glass;    waste form;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1176854
RP-ID  :  PNNL-22034 Rev. 1
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1176854
Others  :  Other: AF5805010

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

The Fuel Cycle Research and Development Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, is currently investigating alternative waste forms for wastes generated from nuclear fuel processing. One such waste results from an electrochemical separations process, called the ???Echem??? process. The Echem process utilizes a molten KCl-LiCl salt to dissolve the fuel. This process results in a spent salt containing alkali, alkaline earth, lanthanide halides and small quantities of actinide halides, where the primary halide is chloride with a minor iodide fraction. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is concurrently investigating two candidate waste forms for the Echem spent-salt: high-halide minerals (i.e., sodalite and cancrinite) and tellurite (TeO2)-based glasses. Both of these candidates showed promise in fiscal year (FY) 2009 and FY2010 with a simplified nonradioactive simulant of the Echem waste. Further testing was performed on these waste forms in FY2011 and FY2012 to assess the possibility of their use in a sustainable fuel cycle. This report summarizes the combined results from FY2011 and FY2012 efforts.