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Murataite: a matrix for immobilizing waste generated in radiochemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel

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Abstract

Incorporation of waste from spent nuclear fuel pyrochemical reprocessing and calcines from the decontamination of glove box and hot cell equipment into murataite-based ceramics was studied. The phase and chemical compositions of the ceramics containing precipitates simulating fission products in molten chlorides were examined. The radiation stability of murataite matrices was studied by incorporating 244Cm isotope (1.8 wt%). In the ceramics produced by melting at 1325 and 1350 °C the murataite phases was rendered to be X-ray amorphous at doses of 2.46 × 1018 and 2.53 × 1018 α-decay/g (0.21 dpa), while for the sample sintered at 1250 °C the amorphization dose was found to be 2.73 × 1018 α-decay/g (0.21 dpa). The murataite structure was recovered after the annealing at 1250 °C for 5 h in air. Both the pristine and amorphized samples had very low leachability of Cm and major elements. Production of highly durable murataite-based ceramics containing waste surrogate after spent nuclear fuel (SNF) pyrochemical reprocessing and calcine after the evaporation of decontamination solutions were demonstrated.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful two anonymous reviewers which comments allowed to improve the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiochemical Technologies Division, Joint Stock Company “State Scientific Centre - Research Institute of Atomic Reactors”, Zapadnoye Shosse, 9, Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Region, Russian Federation, 433510

    Andrey A. Lizin, Sergey V. Tomilin, Sergey S. Poglyad & Elena A. Pryzhevskaya

  2. Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry, RAS, Staromonetny Per., 35, Moscow, Russian Federation, 119017

    Sergey V. Yudintsev

  3. A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, RAS, Leninsky Prospect 31, Moscow, Russian Federation, 199071

    Sergey V. Yudintsev & Sergey V. Stefanovsky

Authors
  1. Andrey A. Lizin
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  2. Sergey V. Tomilin
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  3. Sergey S. Poglyad
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  4. Elena A. Pryzhevskaya
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  5. Sergey V. Yudintsev
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  6. Sergey V. Stefanovsky
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Correspondence to Andrey A. Lizin.

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Lizin, A.A., Tomilin, S.V., Poglyad, S.S. et al. Murataite: a matrix for immobilizing waste generated in radiochemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 318, 2363–2372 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-6236-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-6236-z

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