Technical Progress Report on Single Pass Flow Through Tests of Ceramic Waste Forms for Plutonium Immobilization

Zhao, P. ; Roberts, S. ; Bourcier, W.L.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

关键词: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory;    Surface Area;    Waste Forms;    Actinides;    Progress Report;   

DOI  :  10.2172/802610
RP-ID  :  UCRL-ID-143361
RP-ID  :  W-7405-Eng-48
RP-ID  :  802610

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

This report updates work on measurements of the dissolution rates of single-phase and multi-phase ceramic waste forms in flow-through reactors at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Previous results were reported in Bourcier (1999). Two types of tests are in progress: (1) tests of baseline pyrochlore-based multiphase ceramics; and (2) tests of single-phase pyrochlore, zirconolite, and brannerite (the three phases that will contain most of the actinides). Tests of the multi-phase material are all being run at 25 C. The single-phase tests are being run at 25, 50, and 75 C. All tests are being performed at ambient pressure. The as-made bulk compositions of the ceramics are given in Table 1. The single pass flow-through test procedure [Knauss, 1986 No.140] allows the powdered ceramic to react with pH buffer solutions traveling upward vertically through the powder. Gentle rocking during the course of the experiment keeps the powder suspended and avoids clumping, and allows the system to behave as a continuously stirred reactor. For each test, a cell is loaded with approximately one gram of the appropriate size fraction of powdered ceramic and reacted with a buffer solution of the desired pH. The buffer solution compositions are given in Table 2. All the ceramics tested were cold pressed and sintered at 1350 C in air, except brannerite, which was sintered at 1350 C in a CO/CO{sub 2} gas mixture. They were then crushed, sieved, rinsed repeatedly in alcohol and distilled water, and the desired particle size fraction collected for the single pass flow-through tests (SPFT). The surface area of the ceramics measured by BET ranged from 0.1-0.35 m{sup 2}/g. The measured surface area values, average particle size, and sample weights for each ceramic test are given in the Appendices.