Plutonium Feed Impurity Testing in Lanthanide Borosilicate (LaBS) Glass
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Plutonium Feed Impurity Testing in Lanthanide Borosilicate (LaBS) Glass Kevin M. Fox, James C. Marra, Thomas B. Edwards, Elizabeth N. Hoffman and Charles L. Crawford Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, U.S.A. ABSTRACT A vitrification technology utilizing a lanthanide borosilicate (LaBS) glass is a viable option for dispositioning excess weapons-useable plutonium that is not suitable for processing into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. A significant effort to develop a glass formulation and vitrification process to immobilize plutonium was completed in the mid-1990s. The LaBS glass formulation was found to be capable of immobilizing in excess of 10 wt % Pu and to be tolerant of a range of impurities. A more detailed study is now needed to quantify the ability of the glass to accommodate the anticipated impurities associated with the Pu feeds now slated for disposition. The database of Pu feeds was reviewed to identify impurity species and concentration ranges for these impurities. Based on this review, a statistically designed test matrix of glass compositions was developed to evaluate the ability of the LaBS glass to accommodate the impurities. Sixty surrogate LaBS glass compositions were prepared in accordance with the statistically designed test matrix. The heterogeneity (e.g. degree of crystallinity) and durability (as measured by the Product Consistency Test – Method A (PCT–A)) of the glasses were used to assess the effects of impurities on glass quality. INTRODUCTION In the aftermath of the Cold War, the United States has identified an excess of up to 50 metric tons (MT) of weapons-useable plutonium. The Department of Energy (DOE) was to construct both a Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) and a Plutonium Immobilization Program (PIP) facility to disposition this material. In April 2002, DOE decided not to construct the PIP facility and to solely proceed with the construction of the MFFF facility with a focus only on the disposition of weapons-grade plutonium to meet the non-proliferation agreement between Russia and the United States. This action resulted in up to 13 metric tons of DOEOffice of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) owned, weapons-useable, plutonium-bearing materials having no clear disposition path. Vitrification utilizing a lanthanide borosilicate (LaBS) glass appears to be a viable option to disposition excess weapons-useable plutonium that is not suitable for processing into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. A significant effort to develop a glass formulation and vitrification process to immobilize plutonium was completed in the mid-1990s to support the PIP. The LaBS glass formulation was found to be capable of immobilizing in excess of 10 wt% Pu and to be very tolerant of impurities [1-2]. Thus, this waste form could be suitable for the disposition of plutonium owned by the DOE-EM that may not be well characterized and that may contain high levels of impurities. However, the relative tolerance of the glass composition to the various impurities associated with current Pu feeds slated for dispos
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