scholarly journals High-Level Waste Glass Compendium; What it Tells us Concerning the Durability of Borosilicate Waste Glass

1993 ◽  
Vol 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Cunnane ◽  
J. M. Allison
Keyword(s):  
Performance Standards ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Glass Corrosion ◽  
Corrosion Kinetics ◽  
High Level ◽  
Radionuclide Release

ABSTRACTFacilities for vitrification of high-level nuclear waste in the United States are scheduled for startup in the next few years. It is, therefore, appropriate to examine the current scientific basis for understanding the corrosion of high-level waste borosilicate glass for the range of service conditions to which the glass products from these facilities may be exposed. To this end, a document has been prepared which compiles worldwide information on borosilicate waste glass corrosion. Based on the content of this document, the acceptability of canistered waste glass for geological disposal is addressed.Waste glass corrosion in a geologic repository may be due to groundwater and/or water vapor contact. The important processes that determine the glass corrosion kinetics under these conditions are discussed. Testing data together with understanding of the long-term corrosion kinetics are used to estimate radionuclide release rates. These rates are discussed in terms of regulatory performance standards.

A Coupled Chemical-Mass Transport Submodel for Predicting Radionuclide Release from an Engineered Barrier System Containing High-Level Waste Glass

1989 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. P. McGrail ◽  
M. J. Apted ◽  
D. W. Engel ◽  
A. M. Liebetrau
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transport ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Precipitation Reaction ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Silicate Mineral ◽  
High Level ◽  
Radionuclide Release

ABSTRACTA mechanistic model describing a dynamic mass balance between the production and consumption of silicic acid was coupled to a near-field mass transport model to predict the dissolution kinetics of a high-level waste glass in a deep geologic repository. The effects of interactions between an iron overpack and the glass are described by a time-dependent precipitation reaction for a ferrous silicate mineral. The kinetic model is used to transform radionuclide concentration-versus-reaction progress values, predicted from a geochemical reaction path computer code, to concentration-versus-time values that are used to calculate the rate of radionuclide release by diffusive mass transfer to the surrounding host rock. The model provides for both solubility-limited and kinetically limited release; the rate-controlling mechanism is dependent on the predicted glass/groundwater chemistry.

Materials Interface Interactions Test (MIIT); in-Situ Testing of Simulated Hlw Forms in Salt- Performance of Srs Simulated Waste Glass After up to 5 Years of Burial at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

1991 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.G. Wicks ◽  
A.R. Lodding ◽  
P.B. Macedo ◽  
D.E. Clark
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTThe first field tests conducted in the United States involving burial of simulated high-level waste [HLW] forms and package components, were started in July of 1986. The program, called the Materials Interface Interactions Test or MIIT, is the largest cooperative field-testing venture in the international waste management community. Included in the study are over 900 waste form samples comprising 15 different systems supplied by 7 countries. Also included are approximately 300 potential canister or overpack metal samples along with more than 500 geologic and backfill specimens. There are almost 2000 relevant interactions that characterize this effort which is being conducted in the bedded salt site at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The MIIT program represents a joint endeavor managed by Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., and Savannah River Laboratory in Aiken, S.C. and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Also involved in MIIT are participants from various laboratories and universities in France, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In July of 1991, the experimental portion of the 5-yr. MIIT program was completed. Although only about 5% of all MIIT samples have been assessed thus far, there are already interesting findings that have emerged. The present paper will discuss results obtained for SRS 165/TDS waste glass after burial of 6 mo., 1 yr. and 2 yrs., along with initial analyses of 5 yr. samples.

scholarly journals High-Level Nuclear-Waste Borosilicate Glass: A Compendium of Characteristics

1992 ◽  
Vol 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Cunnane ◽  
J. K. Bates ◽  
W. L. Ebert ◽  
X. Feng ◽  
J. J. Mazer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Experimental Testing ◽  
Glass Network ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Mechanistic Modeling ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTWith the imminent startup, in the United States, of facilities for vitrification of high-level nuclear waste, a document has been prepared that compiles the scientific basis for understanding the alteration of the waste glass products under the range of service conditions to which they may be exposed during storage, transportation, and eventual geologic disposal. A summary of selected parts of the content of this document is provided.Waste glass alterations in a geologic repository may include corrosion of the glass network due to groundwater and/or water vapor contact. Experimental testing results are described and interpreted in terms of the underlying chemical reactions and physical processes involved. The status of mechanistic modeling, which can be used for long-term predictions, is described and the remaining uncertainties associated with long-term simulations are summarized.

Perspectives on Performance Assessment and High-Level Waste Glass in a Geologic Repository

1993 ◽  
Vol 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.P. Mcgrail ◽  
D.W. Engel
Keyword(s):  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Secondary Phases ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Large Computer ◽  
Computer Codes ◽  
Engineered Systems ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTThe design and analysis of waste package and engineered systems for geologic disposal of radioactive wastes are being conducted in most countries with so-called performance assessment models and associated computer codes that solve the governing equations. The models range in complexity from simple 1-D analytical solutions to multidimensional, multicomponent reactive transport models implemented in large computer codes. Borosilicate waste glass is certainly the most studied and probably best understood waste form that has been developed for encapsulating high-level waste. Reasonably good models are available that describe the reaction kinetics and transformation of the glass into a paragenetic sequence of more stable secondary phases. Given the broad range of computational tools and extensive database on glass/water reactions that is available, it is surprising that little progress has been made to link these models and data in a comprehensive performance assessment of waste glass in a repository setting. In this paper, we will explore reasons why this linkage has not been developed, give several examples illustrating the importance of doing so, and illustrate an approach to accomplish such a linkage.

Neptunium Speciation in Humic Acid-rich Clay Water upon Interaction With Radioactive Waste Glass Samples

2002 ◽  
Vol 757 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Pirlet ◽  
P. Van Iseghem
Keyword(s):  
Humic Substances ◽  
Humic Acids ◽  
Specific Interaction ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Boom Clay ◽  
Dissolution Tests ◽  
Vis Spectroscopy ◽  
Doped Glasses ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTOrganic complexes of actinides are known to occur upon interaction of high level waste glass and Boom Clay which is a potential host rock formation for disposal of high level waste in Belgium. The solubility and mobility of 237Np, one of the most critical radionuclides, can be affected by the high dissolved organic carbon content of the Boom Clay porewater through complexation with the humic substances. The influence of humic substances on the Np behaviour is considered through dissolution tests of Np-doped glasses in Boom Clay water and through fundamental study of the specific interaction between Np(IV) and the humic acids using spectroscopic techniques. High Np(IV) concentrations are found in the glass dissolution tests. These concentrations are higher than what we should expect from the solubility of Np(OH)4, the solubility limiting solid phase predicted under the reducing conditions and pH prevailing in Boom Clay. Studying the specific interaction of Np(IV) with humic acids in Boom Clay porewater, high soluble Np concentrations are also measured and two main tetravalent Np-humate species are observed by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The two species are interpreted in terms of mixed hydroxo-humate complexes, Np(OH)xHA with x = 3 or 4. These species are the most likely species that can form according to the pH working conditions. Using thermodynamic simplified approaches, high complexation constants, i.e. log β131 and log β141 respectively equal to 46 and 51.6, are calculated for these species under the Boom Clay conditions.Comparing the spectroscopic results of the dissolution tests with the study of the interaction of Np(IV) with humic substances, we can conclude that the complexation of Np(IV) with the humic acids may occur and increases the solubility of Np(OH)4 upon interaction of a Np-doped glass and the Boom Clay porewater.

Vapour Phase Hydration of Blended Oxide - Magnox Waste Glasses

2003 ◽  
Vol 807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil C. Hyatt ◽  
William E. Lee ◽  
Russell J. Hand ◽  
Paul K. Abraitis ◽  
Charlie R. Scales
Keyword(s):  
Glass Matrix ◽  
Alkaline Earth ◽  
Vapour Phase ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Zirconium Silicate ◽  
Constant Rate ◽  
Surface Alteration ◽  
High Level ◽  
Short Incubation Time

ABSTRACTVapour phase hydration studies of a blended Oxide / Magnox simulant high level waste glass were undertaken at 200°C, over a period of 5 – 25 days. The alteration of this simulant waste glass is characterised by a short incubation time of less than 5 days, leading to the formation of an alteration layer several microns thick. Following the incubation period, the alteration proceeds at a constant rate of 0.15(1)μmd−1. The distribution of key glass matrix (Si, Na) and waste (Cs, Zr, Nd, Mo) elements was found to vary significantly across the alteration layer. Vapour phase hydration leads to formation of surface alteration products, identified as smectite, zirconium silicate and alkaline-earth molybdate phases.

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