Leach Resistance Properties and Release Processes for Salt-Occluded Zeolite a
- PDF / 465,146 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 414.72 x 648 pts Page_size
- 57 Downloads / 219 Views
LEACH RESISTANCE PROPERTIES AND RELEASE PROCESSES FOR SALTOCCLUDED ZEOLITE A
M. A. LEWIS, D. F. FISCHER, AND J. J. LAIDLER
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439
ABSTRACT
The pyrometallurgical processing of spent fuel from the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) results in a waste of LiCI-KCI-NaCI salt containing approximately 10 wt% fission products, primarily CsCI and SrCI2. For disposal, this waste must be immobilized in a form that it is leach resistant. A salt-occluded zeolite has been identified as a potential waste form for the salt. Its leach resistance properties were investigated using powdered samples. The results were that strontium was not released and cesium had a low release, 0.056 g/m2 for the 56 day leach test. The initial release (within 7 days) of alkali metal cations was rapid and subsequent releases were much smaller. The releases of aluminum and silicon were 0.036 and 0.028 g/m2 , respectively, and were constant. Neither alkali metal cation hydrolysis nor exchange between cations in the leachate and those in the zeolite was significant. Only sodium release followed tP5 kinetics. Selected dissolution of the occluded salt was the primary release process. These results confirm that salt-occluded zeolite has promise as the waste form for IFR pyroprocess salt.
INTRODUCTION
The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is an advanced reactor concept under development at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The pyrometallurgical processing of spent fuel
from the IFR will result in a waste LiCI-KCI-NaCI salt containing approximately 10 wt%
fission products, primarily cesium and strontium, as chlorides [1]. The alpha activity of the salt will be very low,
Data Loading...
