The treatment of spent nuclear fuel for disposition using an electrometallurgical technique results in two high-level waste forms: a ceramic waste form (CWF) and a metal waste form (MWF). The CWF is a composite of sodalite and glass, which stabilizes the active fission products (alkali, alkaline earths, and rare earths) and transuranic (TRU) elements. Reactive metal fuel constituents, including all the TRU metals and the majority of the fission products remain in the salt as chlorides and are processed into the CWF. The solidified salt is containerized and transferred to the CWF process where it is ground in an argon atmosphere. Zeolite 4A is dried in a mechanically-fluidized dryer to about 0.1 wt% moisture and ground to a particle-size range of 45 micron to 250 micron. The salt and zeolite are mixed in a V-mixer and heated to 500 degrees C for about 18 hours. During this process, the salt occludes into the structure of the zeolite. The salt-loaded zeolite (SLZ) is cooled and then mixed with borosilicate glass frit with a comparable particle-size range. The SLZ/glass mixture is transferred to a crucible, which is placed in a furnace and heated to 925 degrees C. During this process, known as pressureless consolidation, the zeolite is converted to the final sodalite form and the glass thoroughly encapsulates the sodalite, producing a dense, leach-resistant final waste form.
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